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Now not the time for ‘self-indulgent leadership contest’ if Boris Johnson fined for partygate says Welsh Secretary

04 Apr 2022 2 minute read
Simon Hart photo by Chris McAndrew (CC BY 3.0). Boris Johnson. Picture by Cancillería Argentina (CC BY 2.0).

Welsh Secretary Simon Hart has said that now is not the time for a “self-indulgent leadership contest” even if Prime Minister Boris Johnson is issued a fixed penalty notice over the partygate scandal.

The Met Police have begun issuing fines over the series of parties in Downing Street during lockdown, with former Whitehall ethics chief Helen MacNamara reportedly the first to receive one.

She received a £50 fine on Friday in connection with a leaving do held in the Cabinet Office on 18 June 2020, according to the Telegraph.

But Simon Hart told Sky News that he thinks “the world has moved on a considerable distance”, adding that the idea that every politician who makes a misjudgement should be sacked is “not something I subscribe to”.

The Welsh Secretary added that most of his constituents “want an apology, but they don’t want a resignation”.

“I have 65,000 constituents in west Wales, where I represent, and they are not shy in coming forward and expressing a view about this and a number of other subjects,” he said.

“And throughout all of this saga of the Downing Street parties they have said one thing very clearly, and in a vast majority they say they want contrition and they want an apology, but they don’t want a resignation.”

Mr Johnson will reportedly not be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police as part of their investigation into alleged lockdown-breaching parties.

This is because the force is not interviewing those who have received questionnaires as part of the inquiries, and could potentially be fined, according to ITV News.


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Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago

To wake up to Russian atrocities and Simon Hart !

Grayham Jones
1 year ago

Kick this English idiot out of wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 and all English party’s in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh start fighting for your children and grandchildren future in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 vote Plaid Cymru 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Wedi blino
Wedi blino
1 year ago

Would he have said it wasn’t the time to oust Chamberlain in 1940?

Mark
Mark
1 year ago

When people have been dragged through courts and given criminal records and £10,000 fines, how have these parasites got away with £50 fpn’s and no publicity?

Phil
Phil
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark

How come there are no names given for those fined? If anyone is found guilty of an offence by a court their name and the case details are available to the press.

Malcolm rj
Malcolm rj
1 year ago

Just look at his face what else would you expect from that Man

Llyn
Llyn
1 year ago

If the current PM was from the Labour Party and he/she committed a criminal offence would Simon Hart be spouting this ludicrous nonsense?

Kenneth Vivian
Kenneth Vivian
1 year ago

Podgy Boris has dodged the leadership issue to date. Only his acolytes are brazen enough to argue it is now too late to contest the matter

Rob
Rob
1 year ago

Of course if Labour was in power and a Labour Prime Minister had broken the rules, I’m pretty sure Simon Hart’s view would be different.

Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
1 year ago

That great old Tory line ‘not the time’ always applied to matters they want to fend off for their own interests and actually means there never will be a time. Not the time to boot Boris, not the time for the constitutional upheaval of Independence, not the time to talk about Partygate fluff when there’s a war going on, not the time for a windfall tax on our friends and not the time to help their resultant victims. Oh it is TIME!

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
1 year ago

Anglophile Simon Hart is a slug of a man. He defends the indefensible. Please Welsh public, flush this cretinous man away with the other Conservative detritus come the next General Election. 🤞

R W
R W
1 year ago

Simon Hart is an unbearably smug, self-satisfied Tory, who couldn’t care less what ordinary people think about Partygate or anything else for that matter. Hard to believe that there are some people out there who would still vote for them. Shame on them!!

Marc
Marc
1 year ago

Every time Bozo tells a lie Simon Fart get a little uglier, a sort of Nanny McPhee in reverse

Phil
Phil
1 year ago

He was doing his level best, trying to defend Number 10’s serial liar on TV earlier today.
He must be toadying up to Boris in the hope of a serious job come the next reshuffle.
Minister for Government Paperclips should tax his intellectual abilities!

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