Britain’s Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he would seek to be reelected prime minister at the next election and could not think of any circumstances under which he would resign.
Opposition parties and some of Johnson’s own Conservative lawmakers have said the prime minister must go, after police fined him for breaking his own stringent coronavirus lockdown rules.
Johnson apologized to parliament on Tuesday, saying he did not know a gathering in his Downing Street office to celebrate his birthday had been against the rules.
Opponents say he repeatedly lied to parliament in 2021 when he said all guidelines had been followed.
Asked by reporters on the plane to India whether he will fight the next election, Johnson replied, “Of course.”
Asked if he saw any circumstances where he could resign, he said: “Not a lot springs to mind at the moment.”
Johnson has said it is time to focus on other pressing international and domestic issues.
Lawmakers on Thursday are expected to vote on a motion put forward by the opposition Labour Party which, if passed, would refer Johnson to parliament’s Committee of Privileges to consider whether his conduct amounted to contempt of the House of Commons.
But the government is seeking to delay the decision until after the police investigation into lockdown breaches has concluded, and a long-awaited report into the matter by a senior civil servant has been published.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) plays a game with a resident during a visit to Westport Care Home in east London on Tuesday. Breaking an election pledge not to raise taxes, Johnson on Tuesday announced hefty new funding to fix a social care crisis and a pandemic surge in hospital waiting lists. Photo: AFP
