Boris Johnson partygate updates | 'Hand on heart, I did not lie to the House,' says Johnson

Johnson argued that his wife and son were at the party organised at No. 10 during Covid lockdown, and a "contractor who was in the building" attended the party very briefly. 

He said he thought this was "reaonably necessary for work purposes because he was standing at his desk, and about to have a meeting" and also mentioned that at No 10 the "PM’s family have access to the building", one of the reasons why they were there. 

He said that "the press office publicised the fact it took place. No one said it should not have taken place. And Rishi Sunak was there too". 

Boris said, "It did not mean to me that we breached the guidance. It means that we were following the guidance to the best of our ability, which was what the guidance provided for. And the guidance provides for freedoms within the practical framework of the operation, or the business, to decide how you’re going to implement the guidance." 
 

He said, "I apologise, I apologise for inadvertently misleading this house, but to say I did it recklessly or deliberately is completely untrue, as the evidence shows." 

The former UK PM also defended his time as he said that he is "proud" to have given leadership during the pandemic. 

Johnson said that he was at the gatherings in question for only 10 or 15 minutes, "perhaps a maximum of 25" in just one case. 

Boris said, "I will believe until the day I die", it was his job to "thank the staff for their hard work". 

Johnson argued that if rule-breaking and Covid guidelines breach was obvious, then other officials, including the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must also have seen it and it "must have been equally obvious". 

He said that if it was really "obvious that they were going against the guidance", then the committee is not only accusing me of "lying" but also accusing all those civil servants and advisors. 

Referring to the testimony of his former aide Dominic Cummings, Johnson said that he had "every motive to lie". He also noted that what Cummings said was not supported by "documentary evidence". 

Before the proceeding paused to vote on Windsor Framework, Johnson said that Sue Gray told him twice she did not think Partygate events passed "threshold of criminality". 

And further stated that he believed what he told MPs and when it was clear he was wrong, he came to the Commons and corrected the record. 

With a hand on his heart, the former UK prime minister said that he did not lie to the parliament. 

Johnson said that a vote will take place soon. He suggests they wait for that until he starts his opening statement. 

However, the request was declined and he was asked to proceed. 

In the opening remarks, he said: "I am hear to say to you, hand on heart, I did not lie to the house." 

The parliamentary committee opened an inquisition into Johnson to determine whether he told the truth about the "Partygate" scandal. 

Harriet Harman, the Labour opposition chair of the privileges committee, said the MPs wanted to establish whether he "told the truth to the best of his knowledge", arguing the answers went to the "heart of our democracy". 

BBC reported that Boris Johnson will now face questions from the Privileges Committee of MPs. 

British lawmakers vote on whether to back the central element of the government's recent deal with the European Union to reform post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland in the first parliamentary test for the agreement. 

Sunak said that he was “appalled” to read the report. The government is taking steps to ensure culture, standards and behaviour improve. The Met must work hard to regain people’s trust. 

Meanwhile, Starmer said that Sunak is out of touch and needs “to get out of Westminster, get out of Kensington – and I don’t mean to Malibu” and see what reaction he gets.

He said that the Tories should be "ashamed of their record" and also mentioned the BBC case. He said, "A cul-de-sac has seen 10 burglaries in 18 months, but only one resulted in a charge." 

Boris Johnson was fined by police for one partygate-related gathering, along with Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister and his finance minister at the time, while dozens of other staff received fines.

The former Conservative leader apologised and corrected the parliamentary record last May after previously insisting to MPs that the gatherings were above board.

Johnson said that correction came at the earliest opportunity -- after London police and senior civil servant Sue Gray had concluded their own investigations.

Johnson, 58, nearly died himself of Covid, but relatives of patients who died said his claims were a brazen attempt to evade responsibility

Boris Johnson's evidence to the privileges committee reportedly forms the basis of his defence ahead of his four-hour partygate grilling. 

'Weaponised' photographs and 'selective' evidence have been asserted as the key points of Boris Johnson's defence. The 52-page document has been described by the former Prime Minister’s allies as his "bombshell defence dossier", Telegraph reported.

What remains to be seen is how Johnson defends the accusations that he knowingly and deliberately misled MPs about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street when he insisted no Covid rules were broken.

Reports in the British media claim that behind the scenes, some of the UK’s most renowned lawyers were seen putting Johnson through his paces before the big day.