{O/C} British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his first appearance in Parliament today after being fined for violating his own lockdown rules flagrantly.
But his wholehearted apology apparently fell flat as calls for his resignation continue to spurt.
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Returning from their Easter Break, members of the British Parliament today witnessed a contrite Boris Johnson laboriously take the sting out of the "partygate" scandal.
{Soundbite} BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. Prime Minister: I paid the fine immediately and I offered the British people a full apology, and I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day to repeat my wholehearted apology. As soon as I received the notice, I acknowledged the hurt and the anger and I said that people had a right to expect better of their prime minister.
But when push comes to shove, behind the sincere apology lies an excuse.
{Soundbite} It did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the cabinet room, just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules.
The session quickly morphed into a cauldron of wrath, with the opposition leader's blood boiling, saying the flagrant violation alone had had Johnson lose credibility.
{Soundbite} KEIR STARMER, Labour Party Leader: As the latest mealy-mouthed apology stumbles out of one side of his mouth, a new set of deflections and distortions pours from the other. But the damage is already done. The public have made up their mind.
Such an outcome is par for the course given some Tories excoriated their Prime Minister.
Several opposition lawmakers are contemplating no-confidence letters. Upon receiving 54 letters, a no-confidence vote will be triggered to decide Johnson's fate.
All this follows a 50-pound fine to which Johnson was subjected for attending a birthday party in 10 Downing Street in June 2020, when lockdown measures were still in place.
At least 50 tickets have been handed out, including one to Johnson's wife.
The Labour party has been trying to make lawmakers censure Johnson over the scandal.
A debate followed by a vote in the House of Commons on Thursday could be possible.
Johnson's hold on power was rendered precarious at one point earlier this year amid ongoing probes as well as the departure of several top aides.
The Prime Minister's international reputation has been sullied after Britons voted with their feet to haphazardly leave the European Union, albeit somehow redeemed by Britain's unremitting support for Ukraine.
The country's first Prime Minister to flout laws while in office, Boris Johnson's fate also hinges on the results of the May 5th elections.
Still, London's Metropolitan Police are probing into a dozen supposedly barred parties which Johnson did reportedly attend.
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