The House of Commons privileges committee has published former prime minister Boris Johnson’s defence, which was submitted following its inquiry investigating whether he misled parliament over partygate.
The probe was launched in the wake of Sue Gray’s partygate report, which blamed a “failure of leadership and judgement” for the lockdown-busting parties that took place in Number 10 during the COVID pandemic.
Authorities from the House of Commons said the initial document from Mr Johnson “had a number of errors and typos” and a correct version was not received until 8.02am on Tuesday.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF BORIS JOHNSON’S PARTYGATE EVIDENCE
Johnson accepts the Commons was misled but says that he made his statements “in good faith”.
He says the only evidence that he intentionally misled the Commons has come from the “discredited Dominic Cummings” and that his former top aide’s claims are not “supported by any documentation”.
Johnson: “There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event may have broken rules or guidance.”
Johnson on his birthday celebration: “No cake was eaten and no-one even sang happy birthday.”
The former PM admits: “I might well have made observations in speeches about social distancing, and whether it was being perfectly observed.”
He argues that the committee has breached the scope of its own inquiry
Statements were made ‘in good faith’
A major part of the evidence is that Mr Johnson accepts that the House of Commons “was misled by my statements that the rules and guidance had been followed completely at No 10”.
The evidence reads: “I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the rules and guidance had been followed completely at No.10.
“But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”
‘Implausible’ that Johnson would have held events ‘obviously’ contrary to lockdown rules
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In another part of the evidence, Mr Johnson states that a “suggestion that we would have held events which were ‘obviously’ contrary to the rules and guidance, and allowed those events to be immortalised by the official photographer is implausible”.
Returning to this at a different section, Mr Johnson adds: “If it was ‘obvious’ to me that the rules and guidance were not being followed, it would have also been ‘obvious’ to the dozens of others who also attended those gatherings.
Image: 13 November 2020 gathering
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What is Boris Johnson’s partygate defence?
“Many of those individuals wished me ill and would have no hesitation in seeking to bring me down me if I sought to conceal or ‘cover-up’ the truth from the House.
“If someone had known or believed that the rules or guidance had been broken (because it was ‘obvious’), you would expect that there would have been contemporaneous documents recording this, including emails or WhatsApp messages: some discussion, or some post-mortem.
“There is absolutely nothing.”
‘No evidence at all’ to support allegation
Mr Johnson wrote: “It is clear from [the committee’s] investigation that there is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House.
“The only exception is the assertions of the discredited Dominic Cummings, which are not supported by any documentation.”
‘I honestly and reasonably believed in the truth of the statements’
Going on to address each of the statements relied upon by the committee and give them some context, Mr Johnson retained his position, writing: “However, my clear and consistent position since the outset of this inquiry has been that, at the time that the statements were made, I honestly and reasonably believed in the truth of the statements. That remains my position.”
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Johnson accepts he misled parliament
‘Unprecedented and absurd’
In one part of the evidence, Mr Johnson calls the committee’s allegation – that it was “reckless” for him “to rely on assurances that I received from trusted advisers” – “unprecedented and absurd”.
Support from WhatsApp messages
Mr Johnson wrote that “further support” for his case can be found in WhatsApp messages that are in the committee’s possession.
Image: 14 January 2021 gathering
He wrote: “On 10 December 2021, I sent a message to Jack Doyle [former Downing Street director of communications] stating: ‘Is there a way we could get the truth about this party out there’.
“I trusted the assurances that Jack Doyle and others had given me, so I wanted the ‘truth’ as they had explained it and as I honestly believed it, to be published. I used ‘party’ as shorthand because that it how it was being referred to in the media.”
Doyle said New Year’s Eve party was ‘within the rules’
Another reference Mr Johnson uses is a brief interaction with Mr Doyle concerning the party on 31 December.
“I asked Jack Doyle about the event, which he confirmed he had attended,” Mr Johnson wrote.
“He explained to me that the media team held a regular Friday evening team meeting, where they would discuss what had occurred during the week, and have a drink.
“As this was the last Friday of the year, there was also cheese and a Secret Santa. He reminded me that this had been a ‘nightmare’ evening, as the country was about to go back into lockdown at a time when I was desperate to protect Christmas.
“He informed me that to call it a party was a great exaggeration. I asked him: ‘Was it within the Rules?’ He told me: ‘It was within the Rules’.”
‘COVID rules have been followed at all times’
Following reports by the Daily Mirror in December 2021 that Mr Johnson made a speech at a leaving do on 27 November – when the country was in the second lockdown – and allowed a festive party to proceed on 18 Decemberwhen London was in the grips of Tier 3 restrictions, Number 10 responded with the line: “COVID rules have been followed at all times.”
In his evidence, Mr Johnson said that he “cannot recall” whether he had “sight of that line before it was briefed”.
“Based on my diary, I believe that I did not know about or approve the line before it was given to the Daily Mirror (given that I did not speak to Mr Doyle until 6.00pm). Nothing may turn on this though, given that I did discuss the matter with Mr Doyle, and, based on the assurances that I received from him and my own knowledge and understanding, I agreed with the line,” he wrote.
Addressing this in his evidence, Mr Johnson said that he had “relied on assurances” from his advisers, assurances which he now says were “wrong.”
“As Prime Minister, I am reliant on advice from officials. There is nothing reckless or unreasonable about that,” he wrote.
Events attended by Johnson himself
Addressing events in which he personally attended himself, Mr Johnson wrote: “I honestly and reasonably believed that the rules and guidance were followed at the events that I attended. I did not know that any of these events later escalated beyond what was lawful after I left.”
Image: Boris Johnson pictured toasting staff in Downing Street during lockdown
Mr Johnson added: “The Committee seeks to rely on photographs of the events. However, those photographs support the fact that this was not obvious.”
Johnson’s 56th birthday
Addressing the event for which Mr Johnson received his one and only fine, his 56th birthday gathering – when indoor mixing was banned – he said: “It never occurred to me then or at any time prior to the police issuing the fixed penalty notice, that the event on 19 June 2020 was not in compliance with the rules or the guidance.
Image: 19 June 2020 gathering
“I was in the Cabinet Room for a work meeting and was joined by a small gathering of people, all of whom lived or were working in the building. We had a sandwich lunch together and they wished me Happy Birthday.
“I was not told in advance that this would happen. No cake was eaten, and no-one even sang ‘happy birthday’. The primary topic of conversation was the response to COVID.”
‘I could see into the press office on my way to the flat’
In another part of the evidence, Mr Johnson wrote: “For the avoidance of any doubt, I accept that I could see into the Press Office on my way to the flat, although my attention is often elsewhere when I am returning to the flat. There would be nothing unusual or untoward about that.”
Johnson confirms he attended ‘five events referenced by the committee in its fourth report’
These included: 20 May 2020 garden party; 19 June 2020 Johnson’s birthday party; 13 November 2020 two parties thought to have happened the day Dominic Cummings left; 27 November 2020 Cleo Watson’s [former aide to Mr Johnson] leaving party; 14 January 2021 a leaving party for two private secretaries.
Katy Perry has blasted off to space along with five other women in the first all-female space crew in over sixty years.
The Firework singer lifted off from West Texas on a Blue Origin rocket before becoming the first artist to sing in space.
Flying alongside Perry were author Lauren Sanchez, the fiancee of Blue Origin owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, journalist and TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.
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What happened in Blue Origin all-female space flight
The star-studded crew were supported on the ground by family and friends including Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, who said she had “never been more proud” of her friend, King.
“There’s only one time all the women are going up for the first time,” Oprah said she told her friend when urging her to go on the flight, telling her she’d regret turning down the opportunity.
Image: (Seated left to right) Lauren Sanchez and Kerianne Flynn, (standing left to right) Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry, Gayle King and Aisha Bowe. Pic: Blue Origin
Image: Katy Perry rings a symbolic bell before boarding the New Shepard rocket. Pic: Blue Origin
Weightlessness
The crew were weightless for just four minutes after passing the Karman line, a 62-mile-high boundary that is internationally recognised as the boundary of space.
Image: Pic: Blue Origin
They could be heard screaming as they began to feel weightless, and told each other to look at the incredible views of the moon.
As the crew were leaving space, Perry started to sing What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
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‘I feel super-connected to love’
Asked why she chose that song, she said: “It’s not about me or about me singing my songs, it was about a collective energy in there.
“It’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it.”
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Kardashians share support for all-female crew
She confirmed she will be writing a song about the experience.
Space missions don’t get any weirder than this
A sassy crew, a billionaire and a celebrity circus in the desert. Space missions don’t get any weirder.
But this is the new world of Blue Origin and its publicity machine.
It brought together six women – all at the top of their game – and dressed them in designer flight suits. One of them, singer Katy Perry, said they “put the ass into astronauts”.
They launched in a rocket called New Shepard, rising to 65 miles above the Earth, where they unbuckled and floated.
Back on planet Earth there was a star-studded gathering. There were a couple of Kardashians. And Oprah Winfrey was there too, covering her eyes, barely able to look.
It was all a little surreal, and maybe it will have attracted an audience who wouldn’t normally watch a space launch.
It’s remarkable that this was the first all-female space mission in more than 60 years.
Image: Katy Perry kisses the ground after the flight. Pic: Blue Origin
The descent
Three parachutes on their capsule opened up to bring them safely back down to Earth and just before they landed, an air cushion blew a cloud of dust up in the west Texas desert, giving a dramatic-looking touchdown.
Image: Pic: Blue Origin
Image: Pic: Blue Origin
“Excited as I am, I’ll be very glad when we come back down,” said self-confessed nervous flier King before liftoff.
When she exited the shuttle, the presenter kissed the floor and said: “Thank you, Jesus”.
She said it was “oddly quiet” in space, and it reminded her that people needed to “do better and be better” on Earth.
“It was the most incredible experience of my life to be up there and see such vast darkness in space and look down on our planet,” said Flynn, through tears.
“The moon was so beautiful and I feel like that was a special gift just for me,” she said.
A British father and son have reportedly drowned after they were swept out to sea off the coast of a popular Australian tourist town.
The 46-year-old man and his 17-year-old son reportedly got into difficulty while swimming at a beach in Seventeen Seventy – named after the year Captain James Cook landed in Queensland.
They were declared dead at the scene after being pulled from the water by a rescue helicopter.
A third man, an Australian who is believed to have tried to rescue the pair, was taken to hospital after suffering head injuries, according to local media.
CapRescue, the emergency service that conducted the operation on Sunday, said it “was a difficult one”.
“At 2.17pm, emergency services were called to 1770 after reports three people had been swept out into the ocean,” they said in a statement on Facebook.
“Multiple crews were tasked to the scene, including CapRescue. Despite the best efforts of all involved, two people tragically lost their lives.
“One patient was transported by air to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a life-threatening condition.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking incident.”
Police confirmed the pair were visiting from the UK and said a report would be prepared for the coroner, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), while 7News reported they were father and son.
The town, at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, draws visitors from around the world and is busy with tourists in the school holidays before Easter.
Surf Life Saving Queensland’s regional operations manager, Darren Everard, told ABC the deaths were “an absolute tragedy”.
“Around any of our creeks and headlands… especially on a high tide when there’s a big swell, it’s chaos in the water and… sadly, that’s where we have coastal fatalities in Australia,” he said.
“I think everyone should just take that little bit of time when they go on holidays, and it doesn’t matter where you are around Australia, seek local knowledge… but you also need to go to where those flags are.”
A foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who have died in Australia and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Donald Trump has suggested “homegrown criminals” in the US could be deported to jails in El Salvador – saying the US attorney general is “studying the laws right now”.
He made the comment while speaking alongside the Central American nation’s president, Nayib Bukele, in the White House.
The Trump administration has sent hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador, since March.
When asked about the deportations – which were briefly blocked by a US court last month – Mr Trump said: “I’d like to go a step further.
“We also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, hit elderly ladies on the back of the head when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters.
“I’d like to include them in people to get out of the country.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
When pressed on the matter by a reporter, he replied: “They’re as bad as anybody that comes in. We have bad ones too. I’m all for it.”
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was present at the meeting, is “studying the laws right now”, the US president added.
“If we can do that, that’s good,” he said. “I’m talking about violent people, really bad people.
“We can do things with the president [of El Salvador] for less money and have great security. He does a great job with that. We have other we’re negotiating with too.”
The ‘world’s coolest dictator’ said all the right things for Trump
Nayib Bukele is a master of optics.
His look was slick – a black suit and long-sleeve black t-shirt beneath – fitting for the man who’s dubbed himself “the world’s coolest dictator”.
And the Salvadorian president said all the right things, aligning his few chosen words with US priorities.
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” he replied, when asked if he’d be returning a prisoner deported by mistake.
That will have gone down well in the White House.
The Oval Office has become a diplomatic minefield since Donald Trump returned to power.
Sir Keir Starmer’s letter from the King was considered a masterstroke. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scrutinising of foreign policy, quite the opposite.
Others, like Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin, said as little as possible while seated next to Trump.
Bukele didn’t say much either, opting for a touch of deference to “the leader of the free world”.
He wants to position El Salvador as a key player in the region, not just a small country in Latin America.
His authoritarian leanings back home may appeal to the US president.
And Bukele is savvy enough to milk that for all it’s worth.
The Trump administration has been deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to the El Salvador jail since mid-March, when the US president signed the Alien Enemies Act.
The law from 1798 has been invoked just three times before, in wartime. It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living in the US legally if they are from countries seen as “enemies” of the government.
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Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to contact the men sent to the 40,000 capacity CECOT prison – the largest detention facility in Latin America.
A judge issued a temporary block on the deportations on 17 March, but this was lifted by the Supreme Court last week.