UK’s Johnson insists he ‘did not lie’ about COVID lockdown parties

BIRMINGHAM, England

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to swear on a Bible on Wednesday that he did not knowingly mislead parliament over illegal government parties during the coronavirus pandemic known as the Partygate scandal.

Speaking before a committee that is investigating his social distancing breaches during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Johnson said “hand on heart, I did not lie to the House.”

After submitting his 52-page defense, he gave an oral plea to the Privileges Committee, starting by swearing an oath on the Bible. Johnson said he accepts that he misled parliament by his statements that social distancing rules and guidance had been followed completely at Downing Street but stressed that the statements were made in good faith.

“When I said that the rules and the guidance had been followed…I'm here to say to you, hand on heart, that I did not lie to the House (of Commons) when those statements were made. They were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time."

Once the committee concludes its probe, it will decide whether Johnson misled parliament. The committee will report its findings and recommendations to the House of Commons if Johnson is found to be guilty by the committee. All members of parliament (MPs) will then vote to ratify or disagree with their conclusions and any recommended sanctions.  

Johnson claims the committee has no clear evidence proving he “intentionally or recklessly” gave false statements to parliament.

"It would be one thing if the committee had come here today and said, look, here are the emails or here are the 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," he said.

The former prime minister said him being accused of breaking the rules also directs arrows to the others who worked at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Let's be clear -- you're not only accusing me of lying, you're accusing those civil servants, advisers, MPs, of lying about what they believed to be going on. And as far as I know, you're not giving them the chance to explain themselves with their own oral evidence. I don't think you seriously mean to accuse those individuals of lying and I don't think you can seriously mean to accuse me of lying."

Partygate was the name given to the scandal that saw dozens of parties held during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Prime Minister's Office and government departments exposed in the press.

At first, Johnson categorically denied the parties or that he attended them. He said he relied on his advisers.

"I was the prime minister of the country, working day and night to manage the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was self-evidently reasonable for me to rely on assurances that I received from my advisers."

The committee previously said it should have been obvious to Johnson that he was breaching the rules by attending or setting up parties during the lockdown. The committee is made up of seven MPs with four Conservatives, two from the main opposition Labour party, and one Scottish National Party MP.

Johnson was ousted by his own party MPs after admitting that he attended or held parties in which the rules were broken.