Boris Johnson has insisted he will remain as prime minister despite the “bitter and painful” judgement of a report into parties held in Downing Street during Covid restrictions.
Excessive drinking, mistreatment of cleaners and security staff and Covid rule-breaking was highlighted in civil servant Sue Gray’s report.
She said the leadership in No 10 “must bear responsibility” for its culture.
Some opponents have repeated their calls for Mr Johnson to quit.
However in a press conference on Wednesday, the prime minister ruled out resigning, saying: “I’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had earlier called on Conservative MPs to remove him, saying it was time for Mr Johnson “to pack his bags”.
Addressing the Commons, Mr Johnson said he took “full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch”, had been “humbled” and learned lessons.
He told MPs that when he had previously said “the rules and guidance had been followed at all times”, it had been “what I believed to be true”.
He said he had attended events to wish staff who were leaving farewell and his attendance had not been found to be outside the rules.
“But clearly this was not the case for some of those gatherings after I had left and at other gatherings when I was not even in the building,” he added.
Mr Johnson said he had been “shocked” and “appalled” by some of Ms Gray’s findings, especially over the treatment of security and cleaning staff.
At the press conference later on Wednesday, he said a lot of the report which he had only seen for the first time on Wednesday had been “news to me”.
Source: BBC