A former MP candidate whose firefighter partner died during the pandemic has voiced her anger as Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak face fines for breaching Covid rules.

Julian Jenkins was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019 and despite being fully vaccinated, contracted Coronavirus in July of last year.

He died on August 16, aged 60, and now his partner of 16 years, former Labour parliamentary candidate for Mid Worcestershire Helen Russell, has voiced her anger at the behaviour of the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

The pair are to be fined over allegations of lockdown parties at Downing Street and Whitehall.

Ms Russell said: “I always feel sadness at the loss of my partner but at the moment my overriding emotion is anger and frustration.

“Anger at what Boris Johnson, Rish Sunak and other government officials have done and frustration that they still won’t accept responsibility and resign.

“If you make the laws, then immediately break the laws you made and are then found guilty and fined, you have no credibility to govern.

“Johnson and Sunak lack any moral authority, which is essential when making future legislation, not just Covid-related but in general.”

Mid Worcestershire MP Nigel Huddleston is among a number of Conservative MPs to have voiced support for the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

He stated that they, and the government as a whole, are committed to dealing with the situation in Ukraine, the recovery from the pandemic, and the cost of living.

However, Ms Russell is unimpressed by this defence.

She said: “The argument that they shouldn’t resign due to the war in Ukraine does not hold. Asquith was replaced during WWI, Neville Chamberlain was replaced during WW2 and the Tories ousted Thatcher during the first Gulf War.

“Across the Channel in France, the population are electing a new President, so it is possible to have a change of leadership at the current time.”

The Prime Minister has said it “did not occur” to him that the gathering in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020, to mark his 56th birthday was a violation of the rules, adding that he “now humbly accepts” that he did.

Ms Russell continued: “Johnson’s defence that he didn’t realise he broke the laws is not believable. He made the laws, which millions of people understood and followed.

“If he didn’t understand them then what other business does he bring to Parliament that he doesn’t understand?

“He is supposed to deal with complex information and data on a day-to-day basis and if he can’t understand it, then how is he fit to be Prime Minister, especially in a time of crisis?”