Boris Johnson seen for first time since Partygate defence dossier published
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Boris Johnson is “finished”, a senior Tory MP said after a the former prime minister suffered a day of double humiliation in the House of Commons.
A three-hour grilling by the Privileges Committee yesterday saw Mr Johnson lose his cool and accuse the panel of “complete nonsense” after Tory veteran Sir Bernard Jenkin suggested his former boss did not seek "proper" advice before telling MPs that no parties took place in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Mr Johnson argued that it was “completely wrong” to say he partied in lockdown, and accused committee chair Harriet Harman of being “prejudicial”.
After expressing concern that the former prime minister had relied on “flimsy assurances” that he was not intentionally misleading parliament, the seven member committee will now consider all the evidence. If they find against him he could face a suspension that may force a by-election.
Proceedings were interrupted by a vote on Northern Ireland, which saw Mr Johnson’s attempted Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal failed to garner significant support.
The Windsor Framework, which overwrites Mr Johnson’s earlier agreement with the EU, passed the Commons by a mammoth majority of 486.
Senior Tory says Boris Johnson ‘finished'
Senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes said Boris Johnson’s comeback hopes were “finished” after the Partygate inquiry committee suggested he had failed to correctly interpret his own Covid guidance or seek proper assurances.
Asked if Mr Johnson is finished if he is punished by the committee, Ms Nokes told ITV’s Peston: “I think that Boris Johnson is finished anyway. I think there was a very clear message from his own ministers back in the summer that they didn’t want him to carry on.”
“He didn’t choose to stand against Rishi Sunak back in the autumn when we had the second leadership challenge. As far as I’m concerned, Boris Johnson is not coming back as prime minister.”
Boris performance was ‘bit of a mess’, says former comms chief
Offering his verdict on Thursday’s hearing, Will Walden, Mr Johnson’s former communication chief, told LBC: “He’ll be wanting to tell himself it’s all alright – but I don’t think it is, really.
“It was a bit of mess. He managed to last to the end of the first proper question before he got angry. At times he was churlish, frustrated, disbelieving, stroppy, shameless.”
Mr Walden added: “A man with an elastic relationship with the truth, swearing on a bible to tell the truth about whether in the past he told the truth or not – I mean you literally couldn’t make it up!”
Boris Johnson claimed No 10 drinks party was for official who didn’t leave until month later
Boris Johnson has been urged to correct his Partygate inquiry testimony after he was found to have claimed a No 10 party marked the exit of the top civil servant who did not resign until a month later.
The former Tory prime minister claimed the notorious “bring your own booze” garden party on 20 May 2020 had been aimed at motivating staff because cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill had quit.
But Mr Sedwill did not resign until 29 June 2020 – more than a month later – revealing he would step down from his top Downing Street role in September.
Adam Forrest looks at the former prime minister’s evidence:
Gallagher says Boris Johnson got his ‘ass handed to him’
Liam Gallagher was among those chastising Boris Johnson as the former prime minister addressed the Privileges Committee over the Partygate scandal yesterday.
“Boris Johnson getting his fat ass handed to him on a plate who’s says the nowt on TV these days marvellous [sic],” the former Oasis frontman tweeted during the broadcasted hearing.
Gallagher has made a number of political statements in the past, last year dedicating his NME award for Music Moment of the Year to NHS workers and “all the people that give a s*** in general”.
Tom Murray reports.
ICYMI | Boris Johnson was warned against claiming all Covid guidance followed new Partygate evidence reveals
Britain’s most senior civil servant has said he did not give Boris Johnson any assurances that Covid rules were followed at all times in No 10 during lockdown.
Cabinet secretary Simon Case said he offered no assurances in written evidence given to the cross-party privileges committee due to grill Mr Johnson later on whether he misled MPs over the Partygate scandal.
It has also emerged that Mr Johnson was warned by his principle private secretary Martyn Reynolds against claiming that all Covid guidance had been followed – but went ahead and made a denial in the Commons.
Matt Mathers and Adam Forrest have more:
Boris Johnson shouts ‘complete nonsense’ during grilling
Boris Johnson lost his cool and shouted “complete nonsense” during his three-hour grilling by the Privileges Committee yesterday.
He was livid after Tory veteran Sir Bernard Jenkin suggested that the former prime minister did not seek “proper” advice before telling MPs that no parties took place in Downing Street during Covid lockdown.
“This is complete nonsense, I mean, complete nonsense,” he said. “I asked the relevant people. They were senior people. They had been working very hard. Jack Doyle gave me a clear account of what had happened.”
Mary Lou McDonald says Boris government was ‘not upfront’ with unionism
Mary Lou McDonald has said that Boris Johnson’s government had not been “upfront” with unionism, and had been determined to act “in a unilateral fashion”.
The Sinn Fein president added that she had found Mr Johnson’s tenure as British prime minister difficult and frustrating, saying that there was a tendency to act “outside of good faith”.
Ms McDonald was speaking in a pre-recorded interview for ITV show Peston as the former Tory leader voted against a key element of the latest EU-UK deal on the protocol.
Read more here.
What were the Covid rules and guidance when Boris Johnson attended parties?
Boris Johnson has endured a tense showdown with MPs who are investigating whether he intentionally misled Parliament over parties held at Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.
Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, this week admitted that he did mislead MPs, but has denied doing so “intentionally or recklessly”, saying he relied on advice from aides during the events at No 10 that took place between May 2020 and April 2021.
As Covid-19 swept the UK, the government laid out rules for everyone to follow, which were passed into law, in an attempt to curb its spread and reduce pressures on the NHS. But it also published guidance, including for employers, on working arrangements to reduce the risk of employees spreading the virus.
My colleague Jane Dalton has the details here:
Boris Johnson suffers double Commons humiliation
Boris Johnson was dealt two humiliating blows in parliament yesterday as he was forced to plead “hand on heart” that he had not lied to MPs over Partygate while he also failed to lead a Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak.
During an occasionally bad-tempered three-hour grilling, the former prime minister defended the decision to hold parties inside No 10 during the pandemic – including one attended by his wife and his interior designer – saying they had been “necessary” for work purposes.
It also emerged that Mr Johnson had been explicitly warned against claiming that all Covid guidance had been followed – but did so anyway.
Meanwhile, his efforts to undermine Mr Sunak’s post-Brexit agreement with the EU ended in abject failure as a vote on the Windsor Framework passed the Commons by a mammoth majority of 486.
Kate Devlin and Adam Forrest report.
Who is Sir Bernard Jenkin and who else is on the Privileges Committee?
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2023-03-23 08:34:58Z
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