The WhatsApp messages that complicate Johnson's defence

Boris Johnson has submitted written grounds to the committee of MPs investigating whether helium misled Parliament implicit statements helium made astir gatherings astatine Downing Street during lockdown.

The erstwhile premier curate says that erstwhile helium told the House of Commons that Covid rules and guidance were followed "at each times" astatine Downing Street, helium believed that to beryllium the case.

And helium claims not to person been unsocial successful reasoning that.

"The grounds earlier the committee demonstrates that those moving astatine No 10 astatine the clip shared my honorable content that the rules and guidance were being followed," helium writes.

But the Privileges Committee - which is investigating him - has already published evidence that not everyone astatine No 10 was connected the aforesaid page.

Its interim study earlier this period said determination was grounds that "those who were advising Mr Johnson astir what to accidental to the property and successful the House were themselves struggling to contend that immoderate gatherings were wrong the rules".

And it included a bid of WhatsApp messages betwixt the past manager of communications and a No 10 authoritative connected 25 January 2021.

They look to person been discussing the day gathering connected 19 June 2020 for the erstwhile premier minister, for which helium and the existent premier curate were some fined by the Metropolitan Police.

The Director of Communications said helium hadn't "heard immoderate mentation of however it's successful the rules".

The No 10 authoritative replies "reasonably indispensable for enactment purposes".

At the clip successful England, gatherings of 2 oregon much radical wrong were prohibited unless they were "reasonably necessary" for enactment purposes.

There was besides guidance for workplaces suggesting lone "absolutely indispensable participants" should physically be meetings and they should support societal distancing.

There was thing to suggest that workplace socialising, specified arsenic day parties oregon leaving drinks, would beryllium acceptable.

The speech of messages - successful the committee study - ends with the Director of Communications saying: "Not definite that 1 works does it".

In his written evidence, Mr Johnson says these are "internal messages betwixt advisers. There is nary proposition astatine each that these concerns were passed connected to me".

He besides says the messages were from January 2022, whereas his statements to Parliament - astir the rules and guidance being followed - were successful December 2021.

But these messages - made nationalist by the committee - intelligibly amusement immoderate officials struggling to explicate however 1 of the gatherings was permitted.