Boris Johnson: Watch and follow LIVE as as former PM faces the Privileges Committee as he defends himself against claims he lied to Parliament

Clips of Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons addressing partygate were played during the Privileges Committee hearing.

In a video recorded on December 1 2021, he responded to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer: “What I can tell the right honourable gentleman is that all guidance was followed completely.”

In another clip recorded seven days later, Mr Johnson said: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations, assured that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.

“I apologise for the impression that has been given that staff in Downing Street take this less than seriously.”

He added that he was “furious at that”.

In a video recorded on May 25 2022, Mr Johnson said: “When I said I came to this House and said in all sincerity the rules and guidance had been followed at all times, it is what I believed to be true.”

Boris Johnson has returned to the Privileges Committee hearing after a call to vote briefly interrupted proceedings.

Johnson’s defence over Partygate ‘beggars belief’, say public

By Aine Fox, PA Social Affairs Correspondent

Boris Johnson has been accused of a sense of entitlement by voters and bereaved families who have said his defence to Partygate events “beggars belief”.

The former prime minister has accepted he misled the House of Commons when he insisted in December 2021 that all pandemic rules were followed, but has denied doing so deliberately, saying he was acting “in good faith” on the advice of his senior team.

Campaign group 38 Degrees said it had joined the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group in driving an ad van around Westminster on Wednesday covered in messages for the former Tory party leader ahead of his appearance before the Privileges Committee.

Retired nurse Sue Shrapnell, who lives in Mr Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, said the parliamentarian had broken the trust voters should be able to have in their MPs.

The 73-year-old said: “How can he possibly claim that he didn’t know that what he was doing was wrong when he was the one making the rules? It beggars belief, it’s absolutely impossible that he didn’t know.

“You would have to be very stupid not to know that what was going on was against the rules, and Boris Johnson is a foolish man, but he isn’t a stupid man.

“I also worry that it will affect public health in future: why should people do as they’re told, when they know that these people in positions of power and responsibility were just doing whatever they wanted, while they expected the rest of us to follow the rules?

“As a constituent, I feel there’s no point going to Boris Johnson with anything because he’s proven how untrustworthy he is – he has broken the trust that I feel I should be able to have in my constituency MP.”

Another member of the public accused Mr Johnson of being a “privileged person” who had not made the sacrifices others did during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

In a message to Mr Johnson, Sandra Lambie, from Paisley, said: “You are a privileged person, you received privileged care while having Covid.

“My father did not receive the same treatment and passed away in hospital alone, while we made sacrifices asked of us, you did not. You actually risked spreading this dangerous virus around by your sense of entitlement, by thinking that you were above the law, above the rules made by you and your incompetent government.

“Too busy partying to even consider what was happening to our care home residents, care home staff, our nurses and doctors, who already saved your life during your hospital stay for Covid. You are not fit to serve us, you are not fit for any part in our government.”

Linda Sherwood, from Scarborough, said she was not able to see her dying mother “because of regulations your Government imposed while you were enjoying the company of others at alcohol-fuelled parties”.

She added: “Your hypocrisy disgusts me, you are unworthy to remain as a representative of the people.”

Boris Johnson called on the committee to publish all the evidence it had gathered “so that Parliament and public can judge for themselves”.

“Despite my repeated requests, the committee has refused to do this.

“As investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury it has elected only to publish the evidence which it considers incriminating and not the evidence which I rely on and which answers the charges.”

He added that the committee said “late last night” that it would not publish a large number of extracts which he relied on in his defence.

“That is manifestly unfair,” he said.

Boris Johnson said he was “deeply shocked” by the police fines, suggesting senior civil servant Sue Gray had assured him no criminal behaviour had taken place at the lockdown gatherings.

Giving evidence to the Privileges Committee, Mr Johnson said: “I was deeply shocked when fines were issued, not least because I had been told on a couple of occasions at least, by Sue Gray, that she did not think the threshold of criminality had been reached.”

Boris Johnson said the process being used to decide whether he was in contempt of Parliament was “manifestly unfair”.

The former prime minister told MPs: “You have found nothing to show that I was warned in advance that events in No 10 were illegal, in fact nothing to show that anyone raised anxieties with me about any event, whether before or after it had taken place.

“If there had been such anxiety about a rule-breaking event at No 10 it would unquestionably have been escalated to me.”

He added that his former aide Dominic Cummings’ claim to have raised concerns with the then prime minister was “unsupported by any documentary evidence” and “plainly cannot be relied on”.

“He has every motive to lie,” Mr Johnson claimed.

Boris Johnson continued: “When this inquiry was set up I was completely confident that you would find nothing to show that I knew or believed anything else, as indeed you have not.

“I was confident, not because there has been some kind of cover-up. I was confident because I knew that was what I believed and that is why I said it.”

The former prime minister said there was a “near universal belief at No 10 that the rules and the guidance were being complied with”.

“That is the general belief that has been uncovered by your evidence, and it was that belief that governed what I said in the House,” he added.

“As soon as it was clear I was wrong and as soon as the Sue Gray investigation and the Metropolitan Police investigation had concluded, I came to the House of Commons and I corrected the record as I promised I would.

“I clearly could not have anticipated the outcome by coming earlier, because I genuinely did not know what the outcome would be.”

Hand on heart, I did not lie to the House, Johnson says

By Sam Blewett, PA Deputy Political Editor

Boris Johnson has sworn “hand on heart, I did not lie to the House” as he was questioned by MPs over whether he misled the Commons with his denials of partygate in a hearing that could determine his political fate.

Harriet Harman, the chair of the Privileges Committee undertaking the grilling, rejected the former prime minister’s demand that the inquiry only considers his discussion of coronavirus guidance.

The Labour grandee said the MPs on the cross-party committee will leave their “party interests at the door of the committee room and conduct our work in the interests of the House” as she dismissed claims of bias.

She insisted the committee is “not relying” on evidence provided by the Sue Gray report, as allies of Mr Johnson claim the inquiry is a “witch hunt” now that the civil servant is joining Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s office.

Ms Harman added: “We have not changed the rules of the procedure that is not within our remit, that is laid down by the House, we’re bound to follow them, that is not what we’ve done.”

She said the evidence raises “clear questions and this is Mr Johnson’s opportunity to give us his answers” before asking him to take the oath.

He swore to tell the truth before issuing an apology and adding “hand on heart, I did not lie to the House”.

Boris Johnson has left the Privileges Committee after a vote was called, with MPs expected to reconvene in 15 minutes.

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Michael Fabricant filed past the former prime minister as they left the room, with the latter leaning in to say something inaudible to Mr Johnson.

Privileges Committee chairwoman Harriet Harman said Sue Gray will not be a witness during its inquiry and it will not be relying on the former senior civil servant’s investigation into lockdown gatherings in Downing Street.

Speaking at the opening of the probe into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament over his partygate assurances, the senior Labour MP said: “We have already considered evidence supplied by the Government, including emails, WhatsApp messages and photos taken at the time.

“And written statements taken under oath from witnesses present at the relevant times to inform us of what Mr Johnson would have known at the time of his statements to the House.

“There has been much comment on whether the committee is relying on the Sue Gray report material. We are not relying on any such material and nor will we.

“Last November we decided to collect direct first-hand evidence from all the witnesses under oath and this has all be disclosed to Mr Johnson.

“Sue Gray is not a witness.”