MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin, commenting on the ongoing political scandal that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is embroiled in over his lockdown-defying parties at Downing Street during the worldwide pandemic, noted that the British head of government has great abilities for "surviving any difficulties."
"Johnson has great abilities for surviving any difficulties. He hasn’t weathered just one scandal but a whole slew of them," the envoy told the Soloviev Live YouTube channel.
Earlier, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Ian Blackford, among other politicians, asserted that the British prime minister lost the moral right to hold office following the scandal over Downing Street’s get-togethers that apparently breached COVID-19 restrictions. Several of Johnson’s fellow party members also stated their loss of confidence in him. His predecessor Theresa May who is currently an ordinary delegate of the ruling Conservative Party also sharply criticized the prime minister. Johnson himself opined that members of the House of Commons should focus on counteracting Russia and not on attempts to force him to resign.
On January 31, a Downing Street representative reported that Johnson was planning to hold a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in order to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Then, Johnson’s spokesman said that the conversation was postponed because the prime minister spent several hours in parliament answering questions over Downing Street parties during the lockdown.