Rishi Sunak has been asked why people should “trust” him given he was handed a police fine for breaking Covid lockdown rules as part of the partygate scandal.
Speaking to voters on Thursday, the prime minister was confronted by a man who said his mother died during the pandemic.
“That was the month when all the parties were going on in Downing Street,” he said. “How can anyone trust you or the party after things like this?”
Sunak he was “sorry for what was going on in Downing Street” at the time.
“For my part I apologised. I showed up toe a meeting early. I was working on things to help you and your business and many other families like that,” he said.
“When our country goes through tough times, I will always be there to support you.”
Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney said Sunak would ‘go down in history as the partygate chancellor’.
“People up and down the country won’t forget Sunak’s involvement in Boris Johnson’s lying and lawbreaking government,” she said.
“His weasel words will come as cold comfort to bereaved families who struggled during the pandemic.”
Sunak was handed a fixed penalty notice by the police in April 2022 for being at a birthday gathering for Boris Johnson in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020.
Johnson and his wife Carrie were also issued fines by the police for the gathering.
Sunak apologised at the time and said he was only present because he had turned up early for a work meeting due to take place in the same room.