UK PM apologises in Parliament for attending lockdown party

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday extended a heartfelt apology in the House of Commons in response to growing anger around reports of a bring-your-own-booze (BYOB) party in the 10 Downing Street garden during COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020.

Johnson has been under intense pressure from the Opposition Labour Party as well as members of his own Conservative Party since an email invitation for the event on May 20, 2020 emerged in the media.

He expressed regret as he admitted for the first time that he did attend the event, which he said he believed fell within the scope of a work event.

I want to apologise. I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months, Johnson said in his statement to the Commons ahead of the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session.

"I know the things they feel with me and at the government I lead when they think that in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules,

he said.