A prominent British constitutional expert said today, Sunday, that Prime Minister Boris Johnson "put Britain into a constitutional crisis" when he violated a regulation he enacted to contain the Corona epidemic, which represents a breach of the British Ministerial Law.

Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the UK's House of Lords, said Johnson had become "a symbol of the breach of compliance in modern public and political life" after police fined him for attending a Downing Street gathering during a lockdown.

According to the British government's website, the ministerial act sets out the standards of behavior expected of ministers and how they perform their duties.

Opposition MPs accused Johnson of misleading Parliament on the issue after the prime minister told Parliament last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic. 

The prime minister will appear in the House of Commons on Tuesday to explain why the police have fined him.

Johnson also apologized after becoming the first British leader to be found to have broken the law while in office. Police are investigating other gatherings, and Johnson could face additional fines.

"I think we are going through the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember," Hennessy told the BBC, asking why anyone in public life would abide by the rules when the prime minister did not abide.

He added: "The Prime Minister has reserved his place in British history as the first violator of the law to take over as prime minister," adding that he no longer deserves to serve the Queen or her country, as he put it.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister in Johnson's cabinet, said he respected Hennessy but did not believe the constitutional expert had fully understood the constitutional significance of the ministerial act.

He added that Johnson told Parliament in good faith that he had not broken any rules and did not believe he did.