London, April 19 : UK PM Boris Johnson on Tuesday apologised for breaking the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by himself and claimed that he did not know that the 2020 birthday gathering was an illegal party. Speaking to the lawmakers for the first time since he was fined last week for attending a birthday party thrown for him in Downing Street in June 2020 when large indoor gatherings were banned, the PM offered members of Parliament what he called a “whole-hearted apology”, CNN reported. He, however, emphasised that it “did not occur to me then or subsequently” that the gathering “could amount to a breach of the rules.” Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer called Johnson’s statement “a joke.” He said, “The public have made up their mind; they don’t believe a word the prime minister says. They know what he is.” According to CNN, hours before Johnson arrived at Parliament, the Speaker of the House dealt him another blow by allowing a vote on Thursday on whether he misled lawmakers in his initial denials of wrongdoing. It coincides with the PM’s two-day visit to India. RNJ