Boris Johnson: I did not lie to the House of Commons over Partygate

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LONDON — Boris Johnson denied lying to the House of Commons over the Partygate scandal as a marathon grilling on the former prime minister’s conduct got underway Wednesday.

The cross-party privileges committee, chaired by Labour grandee Harriet Harman, is examining whether the ex-prime minister knowingly misled parliament about COVID rule-breaking parties in Downing Street when he made statements about the gatherings — later the subject of police fines — to the House of Commons.

After swearing an oath on the King James Bible at the start of an expected four-hour session, Johnson told the committee: “I am here to say to you, hand on heart, that I did not lie to the house.”

And he added: “When those statements were made they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I knew and believed at the time.”

The privileges committee has said Johnson — who could face a temporary Commons ban or be forced to apologize to MPs — may have misled the House multiple times with a series of statements at the height of the Partygate row.

He had at the time stressed COVID-19 guidance was followed “completely” in Downing Street during the gatherings in question, later stating “the rules were followed at all times.”

But, laying out the case for the defense in sometimes-testy exchanges Wednesday, Johnson said that “as soon as it was clear that I was wrong,” he had corrected the record.

And he challenged the committee to provide further evidence that he had knowingly misinformed MPs about what went on in Downing Street. “You have been investigating this for more than 10 months … You have found nothing to show that I was warned in advance that events in No. 10 were illegal,” he said.

The former Tory leader argued that the group of MPs had failed to show that any aide or official “raised anxieties with me about any event before or after they took place” — with one exception, testimony from his old-aide-turned nemesis Dominic Cummings.

“He has every motive to lie,” Johnson said.

‘That never happened’

Johnson acknowledged that maintaining “perfect” social distancing in the cramped conditions of No. 10 Downing Street had not been possible at all times, as he was repeatedly pressed on the reasons behind a gathering to mark the departure of key government staff.

He described the gathering, in which he was photographed raising a glass with several colleagues — as “essential for work purposes” under the rules in place at the time, saying it was necessary to “steady the ship” after a tumultuous time in No. 10 and to thank staff for their hard work.

“People who say we were partying in lockdown simply do not know what they are talking about,” he told the committee.

Johnson disputed the idea that anyone in Downing Street had believed their own conduct breached government guidance on stopping the spread of the virus.

He charged: “It would be one thing if the committee came to me today and said look, here are the emails or WhatsApps that show that you were warned about rule breaking before you made your statements to the House. You haven’t got any such evidence, because that never happened.”

Amid accusations of bias from Johnson’s allies, Harman said MPs on the committee would “leave our party interest at the door and conduct our work in the interests of the house.” They would, she said, expect “proactive candor” from the former PM.

This developing story is being updated.