LONDON (AP) — Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson began testifying Wednesday at a key hearing into whether he misled Parliament about lockdown parties.
Johnson has denied knowingly lying, but if he is found to have done so, he could be suspended or lose his seat in Parliament.
Johnson was questioned by the House of Commons standards committee over his comments about parties breaking rules in government buildings during the coronavirus pandemic.
He told the committee after swearing on a Bible that the events that broke government rules were wrong and “I bitterly regret it,” but added: “hand on heart … I did not lie to the House.”
Johnson acknowledges that his insistence that the rules were followed all the time turned out to be false. But he said he had not “knowingly or carelessly” misled Parliament.
“You have not found anything to show that I was warned in advance that the events at No. 10 (Downing St.) were illegal,” he told the committee in an opening statement.
Expected to last several hours, the hearing is a moment of danger for a politician whose career has been a roller coaster of scandals and reversals. If the House of Commons Committee of Privileges concludes that Johnson knowingly lied, he could be suspended or lose his seat in Parliament.
It is likely to end hopes of another comeback for the 58-year-old politician, who led the Conservative Party to a landslide victory in 2019 but was forced out by his own party in July 2022 after being embroiled in scandals over money, ethics and judgment.
In an interim report this month, the committee – made up of Conservative and opposition lawmakers – said evidence strongly suggested it would have been “obvious” to Johnson that the gatherings in his Downing Street offices on 2020 and 2021 have breached the COVID-19 lockdown rules.
Johnson acknowledged on Tuesday that his repeated assurances to Parliament that the rules were being followed at all times “did not go well”. But he said he “did not intentionally or recklessly mislead” lawmakers.
In a dossier of written evidence, Johnson said it never occurred to him that the gatherings – which included assorted cakes, wine, cheese and a “secret Santa” holiday gift exchange – were violated social restrictions imposed by his own country’s government. .
He said he “honestly believes” the five events he attended, including a send-off for a staff member and his own surprise birthday party, were “legal work gatherings.”
“No cake was eaten, and no one sang ‘Happy Birthday,'” he said of the celebration on June 19, 2020.
Johnson said he had been assured by “trusted advisers” that legally binding policies or the government’s coronavirus guidance had not been broken.
However, some senior officials denied that they had advised Johnson to always follow the guidance. Written evidence released by the committee on Wednesday shows that chief private secretary Martin Reynolds said he “questioned whether it is realistic to argue that all guidance was followed at all times”.
The police issued 126 fines on soiree nights, boozy parties and “wine hours Fridays,” including one with Johnsonand the scandal helped hasten the end of the premiership.
The revelations about the gatherings have sparked anger among Britons who have followed rules imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, unable to visit friends and family or even say goodbye to dying relatives in hospitals.
Johnson said he was assured by “trusted advisers” that no rules had been broken – assurances that turned out to be false. He later said he was “absolutely shocked” by the rule-breaking uncovered by police and senior civil servant Sue Gray, who led the “partygate” investigation.
Johnson and his supporters have also questioned Gray’s impartiality, as he has now accepted the job of chief of staff to the leader of the opposition Labor Party.
If the committee finds Johnson in contempt, it could recommend sanctions ranging from an oral apology to suspension from Parliament, though any punishment would have to be approved by the full House of Commons.
A suspension of 10 days or more would allow his constituents in the suburban London seats of Uxbridge and South Ruislip to petition for a special election to replace Johnson as a member of Parliament.
