Image source, UK Parliament

Labour MP Chris Bryant asks the PM how stupid he thinks the British public are to believe that he did not spot that he was at a social event.

He says the worst of it is that the PM has "already managed to completely destroy Allegra Stratton's career".

The former government spokeswoman resigned after a video obtained by ITV News showed her joking about a No 10 Christmas party during a mock press conference.

Bryant says: "Would it not be absolutely despicable if, in the search for a scapegoat, some junior member of staff ends up losing their job but he kept his?"

The PM replied that he does not agree.

"I've come to this house of make amends, to explain what happened on 20 May and to apologise," he says.

He urges Bryant to wait for the result of the inquiry.

The prime minister's former chief adviser has tweeted to say that the email invitation to about 100 people about drinks in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 was "obv totally social not work" unlike what he said were other legitimate meetings held in the garden.

Responding directly to what Johnson just said in the Commons, he says there is "no way" it was "technically within rules".

The PM has apologised - but what now?published at 12:51 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2022

12:51 GMT 12 January 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Boris Johnson is not a politician who likes to apologise. But the seriousness of the anger in parliament and in the country is such that the prime minister did say sorry today.

He has said he attended a drinks gathering during lockdown and admitted he made a mistake - but also sought to kick the can down the road a few days, urging MPs to wait for an official inquiry to come up with its conclusions.

What now? Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems are calling for him to resign. What will be crucial in the next few hours is the reaction of Tory MPs. Will concerned backbenchers speak out? Will those who have privately said they think the PM is in trouble say no publicly? Or will some buy the PM’s apology?

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey describes the prime minister's "attempt to apologise" as "shameful".

He asks why the only person to resign over the issue so far is Allegra Stratton - a senior government spokeswoman who stepped down after a video showed her joking about No 10 staff holding a lockdown Christmas Party at Downing Street.

By contrast, Davey points out that Boris Johnson - "who sanctioned and attended at least one party in No 10" - remains in post.

"Will he accept that the party is over and decide to resign?" he asks.

The prime minister again asks people to wait and see what the ongoing inquiry says.

And with that final question, PMQs comes to an end.

Image source, UK Parliament

Today's session of Prime Minister's Questions has largely been dominated by Boris Johnson's admission that he did attend drinks in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.

But Conservative MPs have avoided the subject, instead asking questions on different issues including staff shortages in hospitals; the case of a man who may have been taken by the Taliban and a new bill to make washing machines safer.

Image source, UK Parliament

Labour's Toby Perkins says there will always be prime ministers "we disagree with" but says that there has never been one that "debased his office in the way this one has".

He notes the PM was sacked from two previous jobs for lying - and asks why "the great office" of prime minister should be held to a lower standard.

Johnson says he "welcomes the point he makes in the partisan spirit with which it was intended" but adds that he doesn't agree.

Labour MP Karl Turner also calls on the prime minister to resign.

"He’s not apologised… for breaking the rules and breaking the law. He’s sorry because he’s been caught," he says.

"He is bang to rights. So when my constituents were making unimaginable decisions he was hosting a boozy party in Downing Street."

He adds that there is "one rule for him and another for the rest of us".

The PM replies by simply referring people to his earlier answer.

Leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer has called for Boris Johnson to resign over the drinks held in No 10's garden in May 2020.

Watch the full clip here:

Image source, UK Parliament

Stephen Farry MP, from the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, says today's apology from the PM is "too little too late".

He says if Johnson was sincere he could have apologised at any stage over the last 18 months instead of waiting until he was found out.

He says people feel betrayed as the apology comes after 150,000 Covid deaths.

He calls for the PM to resign for the sake of the public health message and standards in democracy.

The PM says he grieves for everybody who has died and suffered but asks Farry to wait for the inquiry to report.

Conservative Simon Fell says his local hospital is struggling with 12-15% of staff isolating due to Covid and 140 beds "blocked" because they can't get people into social care.

He asks the prime minister if he will consider reducing the isolation period to five days to ease pressures.

Boris Johnson says he is looking at reducing the isolation period and hopes to bring news about that "as fast as possible".

Image source, UK Parliament

Image source, House of Commons/PA Wire

Ian Blackford says the Downing Street drinks party is an event that shouldn't have taken place and broke the law.

He says trust has been lost and the public will not forgive and forget.

The Tory backbenchers must act to remove the PM, he says.

Johnson says most people looking objectively at what the government has delivered over the last 18 months would agree that he shows contrition for the mistakes that have been made.

The SNP's leader in the Commons asks if the prime minister will "do the decent thing and resign".

Ian Blackford says: "The prime minister stands before us accused of betraying the nation’s trust, of treating the public with contempt, of breaking the laws set by his own government.”

He gives the example of a constituent, Paul, a former member of the armed forces, whose father died without the support of his family around him because they followed the rules.

Boris Johnson can't "get away" with not following the rules again, he adds.

In response, the PM offers his condolences to Paul but, adds that "with the greatest respect" we should wait until the ongoing inquiry has concluded.

Reality Check

The government guidance for England on 20 May 2020 said workplace public gatherings should only take place if they were essential and that "workers should try to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace". They were also to “reduce the number of people you spend time with in a work setting”.

As well as the issue of the party breaching these guidelines, there were also a number of legal restrictions in place.

People could not leave their homes (or be outside the place they live) without a reasonable excuse, which included work (where you couldn't work from home).

So while anyone attending the party may have broken the law, it might be argued this would not apply to the prime minister himself. That’s because the PM lives in Downing Street and so would not have technically left his home to attend.

The law also prohibited gatherings in a public place of more than two people, unless members of the same household or the gathering was "essential for work purposes". However, lawyers have noted that Downing Street is not a public place.

If you would like to see Boris Johnson apologise for the drinks party held on 20 May 2020, you can watch the clip below:

Keir Starmer calls the prime minister "a man without shame".

He tells MPs about Hannah Brady, who lost her father to Covid "just days before the drinks trolley was being wheeled through Downing Street".

He asks Boris Johnson what he has to say to Hannah.

Boris Johnson says he "sympathises deeply" with those who have suffered and offers Hannah his reassurance he has been doing everything he can to protect her and her family.

He says government work has produced "the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe" and "one of the fastest growing economies in the G7".

"Whatever mistakes have been made, that is the work that has been going on in Downing Street."

Image source, Reuters

Starmer says the PM has attended Downing Street parties and put forward a series of "ridiculous denials which he knows aren't true".

He says the ministerial code says anyone who misleads government should offer their resignation

"The party's over" he says. "Will he do the decent thing and resign?"

Johnson says Starmer is paid to try to remove him from office but he should wait until the inquiry is concluded and study it for himself.

The PM says he will respond to the investigation as appropriate and in the meantime he wishes things had happened differently on the evening of 20 May and takes full responsibility.

Image source, House of Commons/PA Wire

Starmer describes the prime minister's apology as "worthless".

He reminds people of the "heart-wrenching stories" MPs recounted in the Commons yesterday about the sacrifices people had made, including the DUP MP Jim Shannon who talked about his mother-in-law dying alone.

Johnson says he "echoes his sentiments", describing Shannon's speech as "deeply moving".

He adds that he knows people up and down the country "made huge sacrifices" and he understands "the anger, the rage they feel".

The PM repeats that he regrets the way the event was handled but the Labour leader must wait for the results of the ongoing inquiry.

A significant apology - but not everyone convincedpublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2022

12:14 GMT 12 January 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

That was the most significant apology we’ve heard from Boris Johnson so far.

It is extremely significant the PM has admitted - to a silent chamber, with occasional shouts of resign - to attending a drinks event in the No 10 garden.

The PM has said the inquiry should be allowed to continue - and we know he will argue he believed it was a work event. But what will Tory MPs say now?

Opposition parties are now uniting behind calls for the PM to resign.

Tory backbenchers are very quiet as the prime minister continues with his account and apology

One MP texts to say the defence is “weak”

Image source, House of Commons/PA Wire

Starmer notes that ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigned when he broke the rules as did his former adviser Allegra Stratton when she a video emerged of her joking about a party

"Why does he think the rules do not apply to him?," he asks

Boris Johnson repeats his apology and then tells the Labour leader: "I think it would be better if he waits for the inquiry to conclude."

Image source, UK Parliament

Labour leader Keir Starmer begins his questions by paying tribute to the Labour MP Jack Dromey who died.

Then turning to the prime minister's admission that he did attend a drinks party in the Downing Street garden he accuses the PM of "months of deceit and deception".

It is the "pathetic spectacle of a man who has run out of road" he says and urges the PM to "do the decent thing and resign".

Boris Johnson reiterates that he thought he was attending a work event and that he regrets his actions.