Kemi Badenoch says partygate scandal was ‘exaggerated’

New Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said the partygate scandal was “overblown” and the government should not have fined people for “everyday activities” during lockdown.

Ms. Badenoch, who won the battle to replace Rishi Sunak on Saturday said the public was “not wrong to be upset about partygate” – when those working in Downing Street held parties during the covid lockdown.

However, she said she believed partygate was “excessive” and that the Conservative government should not have created fixed penalty notices for disobeying covid restrictions.

“The problem was that we should not have criminalized everyday activities in the way that we did,” the North West Essex MP told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.

“People going out for walks, all with fixed sentence orders. That’s what ended up setting a trap for Boris Johnson.”

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The scandal saw Johnson fined for attending a Downing Street party, one of several that took place during his tenure in breach of Covid lockdown rules.

She said it was Downing Street staff who disobeyed the rules that ended with Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, and then the chancellor, Mr Sunak, being fined.

“People in government didn’t follow the rules, but they weren’t MPs,” she said.

“They were often employed and I think that’s how we had created these rules, ended up catching (Boris Johnson).”

Ms Badenoch resigned from Mr Johnson’s government in 2022 but said she thought he was “a fantastic prime minister”, but there were “some serious issues that were not resolved” which left the public thinking “we were in it for ourselves”.

After Johnson was fined for attending his own birthday party in Downing Street he said: “In all honesty, at the time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules.”

Ellie Reeves, chairwoman of the Labor Party, said Badenoch calling partygate “excessive” will “add insult to injury to families across the UK who followed the rules, missed the death of a loved one and family funerals, while her colleagues partied in Downing Street”.

After winning the leadership campaign, Badenoch said the Conservative Party must be honest about the mistakes it made that led to its loss in the July election.

“Our party is essential to the success of our country,” Badenoch said.

“But to be heard, we have to be honest, honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we’re letting the standard slip.

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party and our country the fresh start they deserve.

“It’s time to get to work. It’s time to innovate.”