'They have my 100% backing.' West Norfolk MP defends PM and Chancellor over lockdown fines
A West Norfolk MP has pledged her support to Boris Johnson after he was fined for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules.
Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, say they have paid fixed penalty notices but insist they will stay in their posts.
The revelations have reignited public anger over the Partygate scandal and opinion polls suggest a majority feel both should go.
But the Foreign Secretary and South West Norfolk MP, Liz Truss, defended both in a social media post last night.
She wrote: "The Prime Minister has apologised and taken responsibility for what happened in Downing Street.
"He and the Chancellor are delivering for Britain on many fronts including on the international security crisis we face. They have my 100% backing."
The constituency office of her North West Norfolk counterpart, James Wild, has so far not responded to a request for comment.
But other Tory MPs have argued that now isn't the right time for a change of leader because of the war in Ukraine.
However, West Norfolk Liberal Democrat spokesman Rob Colwell accused the Tories of offering "lame excuses" for their leader.
He said: "It is time to sack Boris Johnson. No more ifs or buts."
Labour borough council leader Charles Joyce said the affair showed "total disdain for the people of this country".
He added: "Polite words are not in a dictionary to express how millions of people now feel."
Independent borough councillor Jo Rust said the Prime Minister had been "self-serving" and the Chancellor's actions were "equally as contemptible".
She continued: "They both must, for the first time, do the honourable thing and resign. He has led the way for one of the most rotten and corrupt governments ever. I know many Conservative voters didn’t vote for this."
And the Green Party's Michael de Whalley said it may well ultimately be left to the people to remove them from office.
He said: "Integrity is paramount in public life. If we cannot trust or believe those who lead us and we accept that then the social fabric that holds us together breaks down."
