Two in three Brits think Boris Johnson lied to the House of Commons about Partygate, including almost half of those who voted for him at the last election.
New polling, conducted by Delta for the Daily Mirror, reveals that 49 per cent of Tory voters from 2019 believe the prime minister lied.
Johnson repeatedly denied knowledge of Downing Street parties to MPs, before it emerged he was present at half a dozen of those probed by police.
Last week, MPs backed a Commons probe into whether the prime minister deliberately misled Parliament – which is usually a resigning offence.
After he received a police fine for attending a lockdown birthday party, Johnson told MPs that it hasn’t occurred to him “then or subsequently” that he’d broken the law.
Bad numbers for Boris
But polling found that 66 per cent of voters think Johnson knew he was breaking the rules. Only 20 per cent believed he was telling the truth.
The investigation by the Privileges Committee has the power to request evidence, meaning top civil servant Sue Gray could be asked to hand over as many as 300 photos and 500 documents.
More than seven-in-ten Brits believe that photos of the Downing Street lockdown parties should be published – with more than a third (38 per cent) saying they should be published as soon as possible, despite the ongoing Met investigation.
Ahead of the local election campaign, 54 per cent of voters said Johnson’s response to the scandal made them less likely to vote for him – and 57 per cent think he should resign.
Johnson insisted this week that he remains an electoral “asset” to the Tories despite growing calls from his own MPs to quit over lockdown parties in No 10.
It comes as Downing Street on Monday said the prime minister has not received any further fixed penalties for violating Covid laws.
“There is nothing to update on,” the PM’s official spokesman said. This month’s disclosure that Johnson had been fined over a 56th birthday gathering in the cabinet room led to fresh demands from some Tory MPs for him to stand aside.
No 10 is said to be braced for Johnson to be given a second fine amid reports police have begun sending out fixed penalty notices for a “bring your own booze” party he attended in the Downing Street garden in May 2020.
Local elections looming
Meanwhile, there are reports the final Partygate report of senior civil servant Sue Gray, due to be published once police have finished their inquiries, will be so critical Johnson’s position will be untenable.
Campaigning in Bury ahead of local elections on May 5, Johnson refused to be drawn on Gray’s findings.
“There is absolutely no circumstance in which I’m going to comment on that before the thing is complete,” he said in a pooled clip for broadcasters.
Asked if he was still an asset to the Tories in the elections, he said: “I’m not denying that.”
He added: “I think that the greatest asset the Conservatives have are Conservative values and the way that Conservative councillors up and down the country deliver taxpayer value.
“That’s what really matters and I think that’s what people will be focused on. And we will be fighting for every vote right up ’til polling day.”
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