Inverness and Nairn MP Drew Hendry says Prime Minister Boris Johnson is 'manifestly unfit to hold any public office' after he was fined for illegal lockdown parties alongside Chancellor Rishi Sunak

Inverness and Nairn MP Drew Hendry believes that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "manifestly unfit to hold any public office" after he was fined for illegal lockdown parties.

Writing on Twitter Mr Hendy said: "We've heard all the spin, the non denial denials, the outright denials, all of the excuses, all of the lies and then some. Time - and time again.

"Now, he has been investigated and fined. Boris Johnson is manifestly unfit to hold ANY public office."

Both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be fined for breaking lockdown laws following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into illegal parties at Downing Street during the Covid lockdowns.

The Prime Minister’s wife – Carrie Johnson – will also be given a fixed penalty notice with officials confirming that all three had received notification of the fines from the Met.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer both called for Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to resign after breaking the law, as did the Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice group.

Yet Scottish Conservative leader and Highland MSP Douglas Ross believes the PM should stay in office due to the international situation.

"The public are rightly furious at what happened in Downing Street during the pandemic," he said.

"I understand why they are angry and share their fury. The behaviour was unacceptable. The Prime Minister now needs to respond to these fines being issued.

"However, as I've made very clear, in the middle of war in Europe, when Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes and the UK is Ukraine's biggest ally, as President Zelensky said at the weekend, it wouldn't be right to remove the Prime Minister at this time.

“It would destabilise the UK Government when we need to be united in the face of Russian aggression and the murdering of innocent Ukrainians."

Earlier far north Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone said the situation was "desperate" because: "The fact that our Prime Minister and the Chancellor – two of the most senior lawmakers in the UK – being fined by the police does not come as a surprise.

"They broke the laws that they made. Laws that kept millions of people from seeing loved ones, from getting married, from saying hello, and from saying the most painful goodbyes. All the while, parties were taking place in Downing Street. It is detestable.

"Families across the nation are struggling to make ends meet, meanwhile the Conservative Party is in crisis. It is time to cut the head from this rotting fish – Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak must resign."

A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister and chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices. We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do.”

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