East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds has said he still backs Boris Johnson – despite the Partygate scandal that has seen the prime minister, being fined for breaking the same Covid laws he had announced to the nation on TV.

After the Metropolitan Police said it had issued Mr Johnson a fine for attending a Downing Street party, the Post asked Mr Hinds for his views on the issue.

The questions posed were:

n Do you still back Boris Johnson in the light of him being fined for breaking lockdown laws, or should he resign?

n Do laws apply to everyone, including politicians?

n Do you accept ignorance is no excuse? The PM said at the time he ‘quite frankly didn’t realise he was breaking the law’.

n As leader of the country, should Mr Johnson set an example – and did he in this case?

n What would you say to the 120,000 East Hampshire residents who accepted the lockdown laws and followed by them?

n Have those who couldn’t be with their loved ones (dying, funerals, births, hospitalisation, care homes, etc) during this time, and accepted that restriction, been let down?

n How do you feel about the highest position in government being filled by a man who has been found to ignore (or pleads ignorance of) his own government’s laws ?

In a statement to the Post, Mr Hinds said: “The prime minister, of course, accepts the findings of the police and the penalty notice.

“He has again apologised and acknowledged that standards fell short.

“I understand the hurt of so many in East Hampshire, given the enormous privations and unimaginable sacrifices made during the course of the pandemic.

“He will face scrutiny from MPs at Prime Minister’s Question Time– an important part of parliamentary accountability, including on this occasion.

“I continue to support the prime minister and his focus on the cost of living, the economy and jobs, and the terrible crisis in Ukraine and the international situation.”