British Prime Minister; Boris Johnson on Monday, January 30, apologized for attending lockdown parties in breach of his COVID-19 protocols as the rest of the UK reeled under the stringent lockdown.

His apology came as calls strengthened demanding that he step down from the prime minister’s position for breaking pandemic rules and alleged misconduct. Johnson said that he ‘understood public anger’ surrounding his behavior.

“I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way that this matter has been handled.

“I accept her findings in full,” he added referring to the findings of Sue Gray’s inquiry into the party gate scandal.

Boris Johnson then said, “I get it and I will fix it but refused to step down stressing, “I am going to get on with the job.”

An investigation into alleged parties at the British Prime Minister’s official residence – No. 10 Downing Street – at a time the rest of the country was under strict lockdown protocol concluded that there have been “failures of leadership and judgement” on part of Johnson. At least 16 such events between May 2020 and April 2021 fell within Gray’s investigation’s remit; of those 12 have been handed to the Met police. These parties held at Downing Street during the lockdown “should not have been allowed to take place,” Gray’s investigation concluded.

“Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify,” Gray said in the report published on January 31.

The reported parties were held either at the Cabinet Office, or Downing Street, but was also held at the UK government’s Department for Education, the investigation found. Some behaviour at the gatherings is “difficult to justify” and is a “serious failure to observe” standards for government, the report concluded. The “excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time,’ the findings asserted.

While Johnson apologized for the social event, which he had attempted to dismiss off as a ‘work event’ where he said he was for over 27 minutes.

Members of the group, COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, asserted that his apology was ‘not enough and that it provided little comfort knowing that bereaved families at the time did not get to attend the funerals of their loved ones.