Partygate inquiry: Everything you need to know about the investigation into Boris Johnson
It has been 11 months since the privileges committee launched its inquiry into Boris Johnson to establish if he misled parliament over lockdown parties in Downing Street.
Having collected written evidence, oral hearings are set to begin later this month, and we will be able to watch live while senior figures are questioned about who knew what and when as the partygate scandal played out.
Earlier this month, the committee published its initial report, saying the Commons may have been misled multiple times.
This is everything you need to know about the investigation.
How did the inquiry come about?
The end of 2021 saw a deluge of stories about rule-breaking gatherings in Number 10 and around Whitehall during the COVID pandemic.
As report after report dropped, question upon question was asked by MPs in the Commons about who was involved – and many of them were directed at the prime minister.
Mr Johnson repeatedly denied any COVID rules were broken in Downing Street.
But in April 2022, after an investigation by police and senior civil servant Sue Gray, it was confirmed a raft of gatherings had taken place.
Who is Sue Gray? The ex-partygate investigator picked as Starmer’s chief of staff
A total of 126 fines were issued by the Metropolitan Police, including to the prime minister, his wife Carrie Johnson and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak.
MPs from all sides of the Commons questioned whether Mr Johnson had misled the Commons over what he knew – a serious breach of parliamentary rules – and they voted in favour of the privileges committee carrying out an inquiry.
Mr Johnson said he had “absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide”.
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April 2022: Johnson says ‘I have nothing to hide’
What did Boris Johnson say in parliament?
Mr Johnson was first asked about partygate stories on 1 December 2021 when facing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
“As millions of people were locked down last year, was a Christmas party thrown in Downing Street for dozens of people on 18 December?” Sir Keir asked.
The then-PM replied: “What I can tell the right honourable and learned gentleman is that all guidance was followed completely in Number 10.”
Pushed again by the then-Westminster leader of SNP, Ian Blackford, Mr Johnson accused him of “talking total nonsense” about parties.
Come PMQs on 8 December, Mr Johnson kicked off the questioning with a statement after a video surfaced of Number 10 staff joking about a Christmas party.
He said he “shared the anger” of the public and was “furious” to see the clip, adding: “I apologise unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country, and I apologise for the impression that it gives.
“I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken – that is what I have been repeatedly assured.”
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December 2021: PMQs clash over No 10 ‘party’
Mr Johnson also accused both Labour and the SNP of “playing politics” when he faced questions about the video from both party leaders.
He was then asked by Labour MP Catherine West: “Will the prime minister tell the House whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November?” – a date when two parties were reported to have taken place, at least one of which resulted in fines.
Mr Johnson replied: “No, but I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”
Who is conducting the investigation?
The privileges committee is made up of seven MPs – four Conservatives, two from Labour and one from the SNP.
The MPs are voted onto the committee by their colleagues and reflect the political make-up of the House.
Labour’s Sir Chris Bryant usually chairs the committee, but recused himself from this investigation as he had already made a number of public comments about the matter.
Instead, senior Labour backbencher and mother of the House Harriet Harman will take his place.
Harriet Harman is chair of the committee
What will the inquiry involve?
The committee has been gathering and analysing written evidence after issuing a public call for it last summer.
It also requested evidence from Downing Street with a deadline of July last year, although it did not get that material until November.
The next step is to take oral evidence from those involved.
The committee has confirmed Mr Johnson will appear in front of them from 2pm on 22 March, but it has not yet announced which other individuals will be questioned.
It has confirmed the hearings will take place in public to make sure the probe is “transparent”, although requests to hear evidence anonymously or in private “will be considered on a case by case basis”.
After hearing all the evidence, the committee will compile a report of its findings.
What powers does the committee have?
Technically, the only powers the committee has is to issue that report to the Commons for MPs to consider.
In its findings, it can conclude that an individual has been found to have “committed a contempt” in misleading the House and it can recommend sanctions, ranging from an oral or written apology through to suspension for a specified period or even expulsion from the Commons.
But it will fall to MPs to decide whether to accept the findings of the report and to follow through with any sanction.
If MPs agree to a suspension of 10 sitting days or 14 calendar days upwards, it would trigger a recall petition for Mr Johnson, allowing his constituents in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to vote on whether to hold a by-election for his seat.
World
Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’
Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.
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From Saturday: Trump meets Zelenskyy at funeral
Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.
“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.
However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.
He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.
“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.
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It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.
State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.
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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.
Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.
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From June 2024: Putin drives Kim around in luxury limo during state visit
The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.
World
40 killed in blast at Iran’s biggest port as Tehran denies explosion ‘linked to fuel for missiles’
At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.
The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.
Iranian Red Crescent rescuers work at the site of the blast. Pic: Reuters
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The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.
Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.
Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.
Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.
Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.
The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.
Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
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According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.
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The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.
It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.
Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.
Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.
Anna and Irene have already been queuing for an hour or so, and they know they have a long wait still to come.
“Two hours, three hours, ten hours – what does it matter?” says Irena. “This is about eternity.”
They have come to Rome from Slovenia, Catholics who felt “Papa Francis would have wanted us to be here”.
People take photos of the grave of late Pope Francis inside St. Mary Major Basilica. Pic: AP/Andrew Medichini
A single white rose left on the tomb. Pic: Vatican
And under the sun outside Santa Maria Maggiore, they are awaiting the opportunity to visit his tomb.
Francis, says Irena, “was like a rainbow” who lit up the world. Anna nods along: “We are so happy to be here.”
The Pope’s tomb has become a new source of pilgrimage.
More than 30,000 people came to view it during the first morning after the Pope’s funeral, the queue snaking from the front of the mighty basilica and then up and down across the square at the back.
Some were curious visitors, others were devout followers – priests and nuns mixing in the queue with tourists and devoted locals.
All of these admired Francis; a very few actually knew him.
Father Alessandro Masseroni is a deacon who came to Rome to train to become a priest. On his phone, he shows me a photo of him and Francis, with the Pope offering words of encouragement.
Father Alessandro Masseroni meeting the Pope
He says: “I had the honour to serve Pope Francis and to talk to him many times and it was a special experience. I understand why he was so loved by all the people – he was simple and direct.
“He was sunny. St Francis was his role model and when I saw the first picture of the Pope’s tomb, the first thing I thought was of the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.
“Pope Francis will leave a legacy – it doesn’t end with his death but will continue.”
People attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Pic: Reuters/Yara Nardi
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Video shows Pope’s tomb
What are your emotions now, as you wait to visit his tomb, I ask. Father Alessandro pauses and smiles.
“Many emotions of course, but mainly, I think… thankfulness.”
That has been a recurring aspect among so many of the people we have met in Rome over the past week – the sense that sadness for Francis’s death is outweighed by the sense that his was a life that should be celebrated.
Volodymyr Borysyak flew in from London on the morning of the Pope’s funeral to make his third pilgrimage to Rome.
Barely had he arrived than his phone was stolen, a crime he responded to by praying for the thief.
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Volodymyr is a refugee from western Ukraine who worries that his home country’s plight is being forgotten by some of the world.
Now, the Pope who inspired him has died.
You might imagine that he would be resentful and angry. Instead, he is full of smiles.
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The farewell to Pope Francis
“We are happy to be the pilgrims of the world and this is a special day,” he tells me. “I know the pope used to pray in this basilica so that is why we will stay so long here to visit Santa Maria Maggiore.
“I think Pope Francis was, is and will be the pope for the world, because of the mercy of his heart and his love for everybody.”
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