LONDON – As the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “partygate” saga continues to deepen with Opposition and his own Conservative Party members demanding him to step down, several media reports have claimed that his Indian-origin Chancellor and Downing Street neighbour Rishi Sunak may likely replace him.
The 57-year-old premier has been facing the public backlash ever since he admitted hosting and attending a ‘bring your booze’ party at his official residence when a stern lockdown was imposed across the country to curb spread of coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
As calls for the resignation of Johnson are intensifying, several Tory MPs have openly spoke against him saying the incumbent PM lacked ability to tackle the crisis that his triggered by Omicron variant.
The MPs are currently waiting for a probe report being conducted by the senior civil servant Sue Gray to take decision about Johnson’s fate.
The Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, a former foreign office minister, said that Johnson had to demonstrate within days could end the chaos for good and demonstrate a new kind of leadership.
“But if he tries to spin his way out of a critical report, he will lose my support,” he told the Guardian.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sunak was absent from the House of Commons chamber on Wednesday when Johnson issued his apology on the matter. His absence is being perceived by many as reflective of his own leadership ambitions.
Later in the evening, Sunak tweeted that “the PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry”.
Who is Rishi Sunak?
The UK-born son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father is an Oxford University and Stanford graduate. He is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, and the couple has two young daughters Krishna and Anoushka.
The MP for Richmond in Yorkshire first entered the UK Parliament in 2015 and has quickly risen up the Tory party ranks as a staunch Brexiteer, who had backed Johnson’s strategy to leave the European Union (EU).
From working in my mum’s tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future,” Sunak had said during the Brexit referendum.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/uks-johnson-accused-of-breaching-own-covid-rules/
