Boris Johnson Denies Lying to Parliament Over Partygate Scandal at Crucial Hearing

Boris Johnson giving evidence to the Privileges Committee at the House of Commons, London, on March 22, 2023. (House of Commons/UK Parliament via PA Media)

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied he lied to Parliament over the “partygate” scandal, as he was questioned by MPs in a hearing that could determine his political fate.

Giving evidence on Wednesday to the Privileges Committee in the House of Commons, Johnson said: “I’m here to say to you—hand on heart—that I did not lie to the House.”

The committee—which is led by Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Conservative majority—is investigating whether the former prime minister knowingly misled Parliament when he repeatedly told MPs that no COVID-19 rules or guidance were broken at gatherings in Downing Street held during the lockdowns.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson at one of the gatherings which breached the COVID-19 lockdown rules, in 10 Downing Street, in 2020. (Sue Gray Report/Cabinet Office/PA Media)

“When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis on what I honestly knew and believed at the time,” said Johnson.

He also sought to discredit the process being used to decide whether he was in contempt of Parliament, calling it “manifestly unfair.”

“You have found nothing to show that I was warned in advance that events in Number 10 were illegal, in fact nothing to show that anyone raised anxieties with me about any event, whether before or after it had taken place,” he said.

“If there had been such anxiety about a rule-breaking event at Number 10 it would unquestionably have been escalated to me.”

If found to have misled Parliament, Johnson could face a suspension from Parliament, which would lay him open to a possible recall and a by-election.

‘In Good Faith’

In a dossier he presented to the committee on Monday, Johnson accepted that he misled MPs when he said there had been no parties at 10 Downing Street in breach of lockdown rules.

But he insisted that he “did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House” and that he made the denials “in good faith” based on the information he had at the time.

In his legal argument, Johnson accepted his denials turned out not to be true but said he corrected the record at the “earliest opportunity.”

Johnson added: “So I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the Rules and Guidance had been followed completely at No. 10. But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”

“I did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House on December 1, 2021, December 8, 2021, or on any other date. I would never have dreamed of doing so,” he added.

Illusive Assurances

However, senior officials working in Downing Street at the time have cast doubt on Johnson’s repeated assertion that officials had reassured him that no COVID-19 guidance was broken during the lockdown gatherings.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case on April 26, 2021. (Aaron Chown/PA)

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK’s top civil servant, told the inquiry that he was not aware of any officials giving Johnson assurance that no guidance had been broken during the lockdown gatherings.

Case replied to the inquiry’s questionnaire asking whether he assured Johnson that COVID-19 rules were “followed at all times” by saying “No.”

He also said he did not advise that no parties were held in Downing Street, and was not aware of others telling the then-prime minister that all guidelines were followed.

Jack Doyle, who was Johnson’s communications chief when the partygate story broke, said he did not tell Johnson that all guidance was followed.

Doyle said he “believed no rules were broken” but, asked whether he told Johnson COVID-19 guidance was followed at all times, he replied “No.”

Warnings Ignored

Martin Reynolds, who served as Johnson’s principal private secretary, said he warned the then-prime minister against claiming that all rules had been followed before Johnson issued a denial to Parliament.

Reynolds wrote to the committee saying he recalled asking Johnson about a proposed line to say during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons “suggesting that all rules and guidance had been followed.”

“He did not welcome the interruption but told me that he had received reassurances that the comms event was within the rules,” the former adviser said.

“I accepted this but questioned whether it was realistic to argue that all guidance had been followed at all times, given the nature of the working environment in Number 10. He agreed to delete the reference to guidance.”

But Johnson went on to tell MPs on Dec. 8, 2021, that “the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”

Partygate Scandal

A Metropolitan Police investigation into breaches of the COVID-19 lockdown ended with a total of 126 fines being issued to 83 people, including Johnson, his wife Carrie, and the then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

A report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which was published on May 25, 2022, condemned the wider culture that had been allowed to develop under Johnson’s leadership and said: “The events that I investigated were attended by leaders in government. Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen.”

A group of police officers walk through Downing Street, in London, during a protest outside the gates on April 13, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Parliamentary committee’s initial report, published earlier this month, said: The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr. Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings.”

If Johnson fails to convince the committee that he did not deliberately mislead the House of Commons, he could be found to have committed a contempt of Parliament.

A suspension of 10 days or more could result in a high-profile by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

The full House of Commons would vote on any recommendations and Prime Minister Sunak has agreed to give Tory MPs a free vote on their conscience over Johnson’s fate.

Chris Summers and PA Media contributed to this report.