'I get It and I will fix it': UK's Boris Johnson responds to report into lockdown parties

LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he is "sorry for the things we simply didn't get right and sorry for the way this matter has been handled" over the findings of a report into lockdown parties.

"It isn't enough to say sorry. This is a moment where we must look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn," he said in a statement at the House of Commons, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Johnson said he accepts the findings of Sue Gray's report "in full," and the result of the police investigation into parties should be awaited.

"I get it, and I will fix it,” he added.

His remarks followed a report compiled by the senior civil servant into the parties held at the prime minister’s office in Downing Street during strict coronavirus restrictions when the public was asked not to meet others.

The report published earlier in the day concluded that a number of gatherings "should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did." It said at least some of the gatherings at Number 10 "represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time." The report underlined the "failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of Number 10 and the Cabinet Office," hinting a direct criticism to Johnson’s leadership.

Gray, however, said she was "extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather." In the concluding paragraph, the report said "there is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government" and that "this does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded." - Bernama.