Boris Johnson's 'I want criminals to be afraid' tweet just came back to bite him

A tweet about criminals from Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resurfaced just as the PM is getting fined for breaking the law, creating an awkward full-circle moment.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced that Johnson would be fined for attending an illegal birthday party in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020, during Covid lockdowns.

Johnson is now the first sitting Prime Minister to break the law.

Just as news broke, a 2019 tweet from Johnson resurfaced in which the PM said, "I want the criminals to be afraid, not the public" in reference to his desire to "come down hard on crime."

At the time of the tweet, the Prime Minister wrote a piece for the Daily Mailwhere he pledged to lower crime levels.

"And as the police do their work, I want them to know that they not only have the full moral, legal and political support of the Government, I also want them to have the confidence that the entire criminal justice system is on their side, because as any police officer will point out, you can’t fight crime by policing alone." Johnson wrote."

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Now as the PM faces implications for breaking the law, the pledge is coming back to bite him.

People on social media took full advantage of the tweet by quote-tweeting it and adding their agreement with Johnson's statement from 2019.

Johnson is among 50 other people receiving fines from The Met for attending gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street including Johnson's wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

The investigation into the gatherings began with an inquiry in December 2021 after allegations of the parties were reported. Johnson maintained that no gatherings had occurred, then said the gatherings that did occur followed Covid protocol.

But after civil servant Sue Gray turned over findings to the Met Police in January, it was clear the lockdown laws had not been followed.

The investigation into the gatherings is still underway with more fines expected to be handed out.

As Johnson said in his piece for the Daily Mail, "We need to be tough on all the causes of crime."

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