LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not intervened in an internal investigation into breaches of COVID-19 rules at his Downing Street office and residence, education minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday.
Britain’s opposition Labour Party has called on Johnson to explain why he met senior civil servant Sue Gray to discuss publication of her final report into parties held at Johnson’s Downing Street office during COVID-19 lockdowns, which is expected next week.
“The Prime Minister has never intervened in the investigation that Sue Gray conducted,” Zahawi told Sky News, adding that he could not say who had called the meeting.
Johnson has faced widespread calls from opposition politicians and some in his own party for him to resign over the “partygate” scandal after it emerged that he and officials had broken stringent lockdown laws enacted by his government.
UK PM Johnson has not intervened in ‘partygate’ report, education minister says
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UK PM Johnson has not intervened in ‘partygate’ report, education minister says
- The Labour Party has called on Johnson to explain why he met senior civil servant Sue Gray to discuss her final report into parties held at Downing Street
France’s Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
- Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102m
- Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris’ Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, “praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world’s largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization,” his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world’s most-visited museum.
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors’ office have questioned the museum’s low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
