Ajit Karn
London: Friday, a powerful UK parliamentary committee investigating former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conduct in relation to the party gate scandal of COVID lockdown law-breaking parties at Downing Street concluded that he may have repeatedly misled the House of Commons.
The House of Commons Privileges Committee has published a summary of its findings and summoned Johnson to provide oral testimony later this month before conclusively determining whether he intentionally misled Parliament and submitting its full findings to Parliament.
When questioned in the House of Commons, the 58-year-old former prime minister, whose exit from 10 Downing Street last year was precipitated by the party gate scandal , denied repeatedly that COVID lockdown regulations were violated within government quarters.
The cross-party committee’s report states, “The evidence strongly suggests Johnson would have been aware of violations of guidance during his attendance at the gatherings.”
“There is evidence that those who advised Mr. Johnson on what to say to the press and in the House themselves struggled to defend the legality of certain gatherings. The Director of Communications stated in a January 25, 2018 WhatsApp message to a No. 10 official regarding the June 19, 2020 gathering, “Haven’t heard an explanation of how it’s in the regulations,” “it notes.
The interim report identifies specific instances in 2020 and 2021, during successive COVID lockdowns in the UK, when Johnson’s claims that “no rules or guidance had been violated” may have misled the House of Commons.
“It is possible that [Parliament] was misled when Johnson neglected to inform the House of his personal knowledge of gatherings where rules or guidelines had been violated. There is evidence that he attended these events “It is readable.
“It appears that Johnson did not correct the statements he repeatedly made and did not use the well-established procedures of the House to immediately rectify something that is incorrect,” the report continues.
After Sir Keir Starmer introduced a motion in April 2022, members of the Commons Privileges Committee were entrusted with investigating whether Johnson misled the House of Commons regarding party gate allegations.
Johnson asserted that the interim report of the committee proved he was “vindicated” and that “it is evident from this report that I have not committed contempt of Parliament.”
“This is because there is no evidence in the report that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House of Representatives or that I failed to provide punctual updates,” he explained. “Nor is there any indication in the report that I was aware that any events at No. 10 or the Cabinet Office were in violation of the rules or guidance,” he stated.
Johnson, currently a member of the Conservative Party’s backbench, is scheduled to provide oral testimony to the committee during the week beginning March 20.
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In the meantime, he has attempted to cast doubt on the official party gate investigation conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which is being used by the parliamentary inquiry as evidence.
After it was reported that the Labour Party is contemplating hiring Gray as its chief of staff, Johnson stated, “I leave it to others to determine how much faith can now be placed in her investigation.” Labour has strenuously refuted these allegations, stating that Gray was offered the political position well after her party gate investigation concluded last year.
