FMQs: Nicola Sturgeon calls for Boris Johnson’s resignation as she says the ‘corrupt incumbent of Number 10’ has to go

Nicola Sturgeon has renewed calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to step down amid a row over a party at Downing Street which broke Covid lockdown rules last Christmas.

The First Minister said that Scotland was being held back by the “whole broken, corrupt, Westminster system” and said Mr Johnson should leave his post.

"Yes I do, Presiding Officer,” she said in response to a direct question from MSP Gillian Mackay as to whether Mr Johnson should quit.

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During Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Johnson apologised for the video footage of Downing Street staff joking about attending a party while London and the rest of the UK was under Covid-19 restrictions. He has launched an inquiry into the party and whether any Covid rules were broken following a week of denials, obfuscation and opacity around the controversy.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a meeting in Bute House in Edinburgh in 2019.Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a meeting in Bute House in Edinburgh in 2019.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a meeting in Bute House in Edinburgh in 2019.

Allegra Stratton, the Prime Minister’s former press secretary and who is seen joking in the footage, has resigned over the scandal.

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Ms Sturgeon said: “I think the principles and the values of openness, integrity and transparency matter to all of us who care about democracy in this country. I think Boris Johnson has many questions to answer.

"I don't think it is simply a corrupt incumbent of Number 10 that has to go. I think it's time for Scotland to get rid of the whole broken, corrupt, Westminster system that is holding us back. And we can only do that by becoming an independent country.”

Ms McKay said that the Prime Minister had been “repeatedly mired in sleaze and corruption” throughout the pandemic.

She said: “At a time of national crisis, not only did those in his inner circle deliberately breach the very rules they had set down to the public, they've continually tried to cover it up. And new footage shows them laughing about it while planning their excuses. This is no laughing matter for those of us who have lost a loved one during the pandemic. Boris Johnson has jeopardised public compliance with Covid measures. Does the First Minister agree with me that it is time for this corrupt Prime Minister to go?”

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