Rishi Sunak requested ‘how can we belief you’ after Partygate tremendous by bereaved man
Rishi Sunak has been confronted over Partygate by a worker who lost his mum during the pandemic during a Q&A session.
The Prime Minister was told “How can anyone trust you?” after he was fined by police over Boris Johnson’s surprise birthday bash in Downing Street in June 2020. Mr Sunak was handed a fixed penalty notice for attending the do, along with Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie.
The confrontation came as Mr Sunak took questions from workers at Niftylift’s factory near Milton Keynes. The worker told the PM: “You mentioned trust there. My mum died in 2020, so at the height of the pandemic. My brothers couldn’t be with us in hospital, I couldn’t be there. “You may remember that was the month when all the parties were going on in Downing Street. I think the month after you attended a gathering where you got a fixed penalty notice.
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“My question was how can anyone trust you and the party after things like this?”
Mr Sunak replied: “I’m really sorry that you lost your mum and particularly in those circumstances. It wasn’t easy for so many people during the pandemic, the impact had on everyone’s life and I can’t imagine what it must have been for you not to be able to be with her at that time. It must have been really tough.”
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He apologised for the Covid rule-breaking that went on in Downing Street at the time. Mr Sunak added that he had said sorry for his conduct at the time when he received his fine. He previously said that he had turned up to a meeting early.
The Metropolitan Police handed out 126 fines to 83 people in 2022 for attending lockdown-flouting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall after the Mirror exposed the scandal. Mr Johnson was ousted by his fed-up MPs later that summer.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “Rishi Sunak will go down in history as the Partygate Chancellor. People up and down the country won’t forget Sunak’s involvement in Boris Johnson’s lying and lawbreaking government. His weasel words will come as cold comfort to bereaved families who struggled during the pandemic.”
