Boris Johnson tells lockdown party hearing ‘I did not lie’

By Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -Boris Johnson said “hand on heart” he did not lie to parliament over rule-breaking COVID-19 lockdown parties as the former British prime minister fought for his political career at a hearing with lawmakers on Wednesday.

Parliament’s Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, intentionally or recklessly misled the House of Commons in a series of statements about the gatherings.

If the committee finds Johnson deliberately misled lawmakers, then he could be suspended. Any suspension longer than 10 days could prompt an election to remove him from his parliamentary seat and end his political career.

The former leader, who considered an audacious bid for a second stint as prime minister last year, launched a lengthy defence at the hearing, saying statements he made to parliament had been done in good faith.

“I’m here to say to you, hand on heart, that I did not lie to the House,” said a defiant Johnson, who has accused the committee of bias. “When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”

The so-called partygate scandal contributed to the ultimate downfall of Johnson, after months of reports that he, alongside other senior government figures, had been present at alcohol-fuelled gatherings in Downing Street during 2020 and 2021 when much of the rest of Britain was forced to stay at home.

Britain had one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in the world with more than 175,000 deaths by the time Johnson said he would step down as prime minister.

Johnson was fined by police for attending an event to celebrate his birthday in Downing Street in June 2020, making him the first prime minister found to have broken the law while in office.

The outcry and repeated allegations of lying over the over parties and allegations that a Conservative lawmaker had drunkenly groped two men eventually prompted the resignations of most of his top team of government ministers, including the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

THANKING STAFF

Harriet Harman, the chair of the committee, stressed the importance of ministers telling the truth, saying this went to the heart of the way Britain’s parliamentary system functions.

At the start of the hearing, Johnson was made to swear an oath to tell the truth on a bible before giving his evidence.

He said the inquiry had not found any evidence he deliberately misled parliament and said he was banned by the committee from publishing a “large number of extracts” he relied on in his defence.

Asked about events in May and November 2020 when he was pictured talking to colleagues who were drinking, Johnson said he felt his presence was necessary to thank staff for their hard work during the pandemic.

“People who say that we were partying in lockdown simply do not know what they are talking about,” he said, crossly.

Earlier on Wednesday, the committee published 110 pages of evidence, showing that some Downing Street officials said Johnson must have known that parties had taken place despite his denials.

In that evidence, the cabinet secretary Simon Case said he had never given Johnson any assurances that COVID rules had been followed in Downing Street – and that he did not know any officials who did either.

Another Downing Street aide said Johnson had the opportunity to “shut down” the parties, but he instead joined in making speeches and drinking with staff.

“I didn’t think that those events were an issue. Nobody had previously raised them with me as being things that I ought to be concerned about,” Johnson said. “Call me obtuse or oblivious, but they did not seem to me to be in conflict with the rules.”

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