Tory MP quits government role voicing 'deep disappointment' over partygate

Top Tory MP quits her role as a ministerial aide in the aftermath of partygate

Angela Richardson, a top Tory MP has tonight, Monday, January 31, resigned from her position as a ministerial aide in Boris Johnson’s government. She cited ‘deep disappointment’ over the handling of the lockdown parties at Downing Street as her reason for quitting.
Ms Richardson, the Conservative MP for Guildford, had been working for Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, as a parliamentary private secretary, but stepped down last week. She announced her departure on the same day that the Sue Gray report was published.
“Sue Gray’s report published today clearly states that there were failings at Number Ten Downing Street that let us all down”, she posted on her official Facebook account. “I share the deep disappointment that it has taken so long to get to this stage when there could have been an early acknowledgment and apology”.
“Last week, I stepped back from my governmental responsibilities, to invest more of my time realising the campaigns that I am working on for the people of Guildford, Cranleigh, and our villages”, she continued.
Concluding, “In so doing, I will have more freedom to fulfil my promise to you as I hold the government to account, as a critical friend, on the issues that matter most to the people of Guildford”.
Mr Johnson has since apologised to the House of Commons, but Ms Richardson explained that ‘moving stories’ about her constituents’ experiences during the Covid lockdowns had played their part in her decision to quit.
“Stories of family loss, of struggles with mental and physical health, as well as other long-term impacts that sticking to the tough Covid rules have had on your lives in the past two years”, she said.
Adding, “Any request for a sense of perspective from those around Number Ten rang hollow with the ITU nurse that I spoke to while out knocking doors at the weekend. Frontline NHS workers like her had also been working hard through the pandemic – putting their health and lives on the line to save others”, as reported by metro.co.uk.

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