LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to have successfully defied demands for his resignation in the wake of the publication of an official report confirming that illegal parties took place at his official residence in Downing Street in a flagrant violation of pandemic lockdown restrictions.

Although the much-awaited report into the affair was scathing in condemning both the "failure of leadership and judgment" that led to "serious breaches of the standards to which those working at the heart of government must adhere", the senior civil servant who compiled the report was prevented by a legal technicality from describing these events or identifying potential culprits.