Partygate: I misled MPs but not intentionally, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has accepted helium misled Parliament implicit Covid rule-breaking parties successful Downing Street, but denied helium did it connected purpose.

The erstwhile premier curate has published a 52-page defence of his actions up of a grilling by MPs connected Wednesday.

In it, helium says his assurances to MPs that lockdown rules had been followed were made successful "good faith".

Mr Johnson faces being suspended oregon adjacent expelled from Parliament, if MPs determine helium deliberately misled them.

A radical representing families of Covid victims said his assertion to person acted successful bully religion was "sickening", and it was "obvious" helium deliberately misled MPs.

The privileges committee is expected to quiz him for respective hours connected Wednesday successful a televised hearing.

The committee, chaired by seasoned Labour MP Harriet Harman, but with a Tory majority, has antecedently said Mr Johnson whitethorn person misled Parliament connected aggregate occasions.

It besides says it has grounds which "strongly suggests" Covid rule-breaking successful Downing Street would person been "obvious" to the past premier minister.

In his defence document, prepared by his taxpayer-funded ineligible team, headed by apical barrister Lord Pannick KC, Mr Johnson says helium had not "intentionally oregon recklessly" misled MPs, and would "never person dreamed of doing so".

He said helium accepted assurances helium gave the Commons connected respective occasions aft the Partygate ungraded emerged successful precocious 2021 that rules had been followed had turned retired to beryllium wrong.

But helium believed astatine the clip that events helium attended successful No 10, including to bid farewell to departing staff, abided by restrictions due to the fact that they were "essential for enactment purposes".

He said helium relied connected officials to counsel him astir different events successful the gathering helium did not attend, and determination was thing "unreasonable" astir that.

The committee is expected to people its verdict connected Mr Johnson by the summer.

It has assembled grounds including written statements from 23 witnesses, authoritative diaries, emails betwixt officials, and WhatsApp messages handed implicit by the erstwhile premier minister's ineligible team.

It volition people a "core bundle" of documents connected Wednesday morning, up of Mr Johnson's proceeding aboriginal successful the day.

In his defence document, Mr Johnson claimed the committee had not recovered grounds helium intentionally misled MPs.

He said the "only exception" were assertions made by his erstwhile apical adjutant Dominic Cummings, whom helium said was "discredited" and was motivated by idiosyncratic animosity.

Mr Cummings deed backmost connected Twitter, saying a drinks enactment successful the No 10 plot attended by Mr Johnson had been deemed to person breached the rules by police, with officials fined for attending.

In an interim report published earlier this month, the committee said Mr Johnson's statements to MPs, arsenic good arsenic his show astatine Covid property conferences, amusement that helium understood what the rules were.

In a connection connected Tuesday, the committee said Mr Johnson's written submission contained "no caller documentary evidence".

In his document, Mr Johnson attacked the behaviour of the inquiry, accusing the committee of being "highly partisan" and going against precedents acceptable by erstwhile akin inquiries.

The committee has decided that whether helium intended to mislead MPs is not applicable to what it has been charged with investigating: whether it was stopped from doing its occupation by his statements to MPs.

But if they find that it was, past his intentions volition beryllium considered erstwhile deciding immoderate punishment they recommend.

A uncovering that helium deliberately misled MPs is apt to pull the strongest sanction. Another enactment is they reason helium misled Parliament "recklessly".

In his submission, the erstwhile premier curate deed retired astatine this reasoning, saying the thought of misleading MPs recklessly was an "entirely caller concept".

The afloat House of Commons volition person to o.k. the committee's last recommendations, arsenic good arsenic immoderate sanctions. Conservative MPs volition beryllium fixed a escaped vote, meaning they volition not beryllium told however to ballot by enactment managers.

The imaginable punishments scope from ordering him to apologise to suspending him from the Commons.

If helium is suspended for much than 10 days, this could trigger a by-election successful his constituency - though suspensions of this magnitude person been uncommon successful the past.