Boris Johnson admits he DID mislead Commons 'unknowingly' over partygate but insists he acted in 'good faith' | The Sun

21/03/2023

BORIS Johnson today admitted he DID mislead the Commons about illegal parties in Downing Street – but insists he did so unknowingly and in "good faith".

In a 52-page bombshell dossier submitted to the Privileges Committee, the ex-PM argues the only person calling him a deliberate liar is his old right-hand-man turned nemesis, Dominic Cummings.

"There is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House," Boris said.

"The only exception is the assertions of the discredited Dominic Cummings, which are not supported by any documentation. "

The arguments inside Boris’ bombshell dossier

Dominic Cummings is the only person who attended the lockdown parties saying Boris knew they broke pandemic rules and guidelines
There aren't any documents that indicate Boris received warnings that the parties were illegal
The "vast majority" of people who have given evidence to the Privileges Committee say they didn't consider their attendance at parties to be a breach of rules
The Privileges Committee has gone beyond the scope of its own probe by accusing the ex-PM of breaching guidance
No cake was eaten at the lockdown "birthday party" in the Cabinet Room
A Downing Street snapper wouldn't have taken official pictures of the parties if there was a fear of illegality

The ex-PM added there's a complete lack of written and oral evidence from people present at the parties that shows he knew rules were being broken.

And he said the fact No.10's official photographer snapped the illegal parties shows he had no idea rules were being broken.

"A suggestion that we would have held events which were 'obviously' contrary to the Rules and Guidance, and allowed those events to be immortalised by the official photographer is implausible."

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In his evidence report Boris also slammed the idea that he knew he was breaking rules during a gathering in the Cabinet Room on his birthday.

The Met Police fined Rishi Sunak and his predecessor for breaching rules by attending the gathering, where cake and snacks were present.

But the ex-PM said: "It never occurred to me then or at any time prior to the Police issuing the fixed penalty notice, that the event was not in compliance with the Rules or the Guidance.

"I was in the Cabinet Room for a work meeting and was joined by a small gathering of people, all of whom lived or were working in the building.

"We had a sandwich lunch together and they wished me Happy Birthday. I was not told in advance that this would happen. No cake was eaten, and no-one even sang “happy birthday”."

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In the dossier Boris also took a swing at the Privileges Committee for trying "unilaterally to expand its mandate".

The committee was originally tasked with investigating whether the ex-PM deliberately lied to MPs about pandemic parties.

But now it says it will look into whether he misled Parliament due to "recklessness".

"It is not clear what subsequently transpired to embolden the Committee to seek unilaterally to expand its mandate," the ex-PM said.

"It is obviously inappropriate, impermissible, and unfair."

Tomorrow Boris will appear before the committee to give oral evidence.

The live televised grilling could last around five hours.

The hefty dossier was submitted by Boris and his legal team yesterday in advance of the showdown.

In the document the ex-PM said: "I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the rules and guidance had been followed completely at No.10.

"But when the statements were made, they were made in good
faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the
time.