• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Teary Johnson denies lying to Parliament about Partygate

The prime minister insisted "nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules".

Henry Goodwin by Henry Goodwin
2022-01-18 14:47
in Politics
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Boris Johnson has insisted nobody warned him a “bring your own booze” event in the No 10 garden during the first lockdown would be against the rules, as he denied lying to Parliament about parties.

The prime minister on Tuesday denied an allegation by former chief adviser Dominic Cummings that he intentionally misled MPs after being told the May 2020 event would breach coronavirus guidance.

In a major interview, Johnson revealed he testified to the Whitehall inquiry into a series of allegations that “nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules” to the “best of my recollection”.

He insisted he does “humbly apologise to people for misjudgments that were made” as he faces public calls to resign over the so-called “partygate” affair, including from six of his own Tory MPs.

But Labour said Johnson “set the rules” and “didn’t need anyone to tell him that the party he attended broke them”.

‘I thought it was a work event’

As Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to give the prime minister his unequivocal backing, Johnson made his first public appearance after reducing his contacts last week, when No 10 said a family member had tested positive for Covid-19.

Asked if he had lied to Parliament over the parties as he visited a north London hospital, Johnson said: “No. I want to begin by repeating my apologies to everybody for the misjudgments that I’ve made, that we may have made in No 10 and beyond, whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic.

“Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules, that the event in question was something that … was not a work event, and as I said in the House of Commons when I went out into that garden I thought that I was attending a work event.”

"I carry full responsibility for what took place, but nobody said to me that this was an event that is against the rules."

Boris Johnson recalls what he remembers about an alleged party in the Downing Street garden during lockdown.

Latest: https://t.co/lE3sSg2vbt pic.twitter.com/k50uWKeYmD

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 18, 2022

Johnson said he “can’t imagine why on Earth it would have gone ahead, or why it would’ve been allowed to go ahead” if he had been told it was anything but a “work event”.

RelatedPosts

After 49 days in office, Liz Truss picks ‘Tufton Street Brextremists’ for peerages

Polling suggests Johnson definitely did not win in the court of public opinion, contrary to Rees-Mogg’s remarks

Two thirds do not believe Johnson’s partygate defence, polling suggests

Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Albanian PM prompts a lofty social media reaction

“I do humbly apologise to people for misjudgments that were made but that is the very, very best of my recollection about this event,” he said. “That’s what I’ve said to the inquiry.

“I carry full responsibility for what took place but nobody told me. I’m absolutely categorical, nobody said to me this is an event that is against the rules.”

Johnson insisted he only saw the “bring your own booze” invite his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds sent to more than 100 staff “the other day… when it emerged”.

He declined to say whether he would resign if it was proved he did intentionally mislead Parliament, instead pleading for patience ahead of senior civil servant Sue Gray delivering the verdict of her partygate inquiry, which is not expected until the end of this week at the earliest.

He appeared distressed as he faced questions about two events in No 10 last April on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, during which the Queen sat alone as she mourned.

‘My apologies to Her Majesty’

The prime minister audibly breathed heavily behind his mask as he said: “I deeply and bitterly regret that that happened.

“I can only renew my apologies both to Her Majesty and to the country for misjudgments that were made, and for which I take full responsibility.”

In a blog post on Monday, Cummings said he is willing to “swear under oath”  Johnson lied when claiming he did not know in advance that the May 20 2020 event would be a “drinks party”.

He said he and another senior official warned  Reynolds the event outlined in his invitation would be against coronavirus rules.

“I said to the PM something like: ‘Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse’. The PM waved it aside,” Cummings wrote on his blog.

“The events of May 20 alone, never mind the string of other events, mean the PM lied to Parliament about parties.

“Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened.”

Related: Jeremy Hunt: ‘My leadership ambitions have not completely vanished’

Content Protection by DMCA.com
Tags: Boris JohnsonPartygate

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending

Elevenses: Exposing the Tories’ Deepfake Illegal Immigration Bill

Elevenses: Rishi’s Finest Hour

Elevenses: Fear and Loathing in the New Conservatives

More from TLE

Four officers killed in knife attack at Paris police headquarters

MSF Building New Refugee Camp in Northern France

New poll sees Labour drawing level with Tories

Teenage crash victim declared dead has stunned doctors with astonishing recovery

Young victim of house blaze in which three children died is named locally

UK paid 1,300% more for PPE due to “inadequate” stockpile

Translation – A Recession-Proof Industry

Watch – Builders hit with fine after being caught on camera dumping waste onto children’s playing field

Small firms see less than half of promised post-Brexit cash

M Restaurants put regenerative farming on the map with carbon-neutral beef

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.