The government has dropped its amendment to the vote this afternoon and is offering Conservative MPs a free vote on the Labour motion to refer Boris Johnson to the Committee on Privileges.

The government last night proposed an amendment which would have delayed the decision to refer the prime minister to the committee after the Metropolitan Police had finished its investigation and a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray had been published.

But, this morning, they have indicated they have abandoned that amendment.

MPs will now vote on the Labour motion and, if passed, the Committee will definitely be able to investigate the PM as soon as the Met concludes its investigation

Less than 24 hours after putting forward its own proposal to delay any vote on referring Boris Johnson to the Commons privileges committee, the government has scrapped its amendment.

We will bring you more on this as soon as we get more.

Image source, PA Media

When asked whether there was a party in Downing Street on 18 December 2020, Boris Johnson told the Commons on 1 December 2021 that "all guidance was followed completely in No 10".

After the publication of a video showing No 10 staff joking about the 18 December event, he told MPs on 8 December 2021 he had been "repeatedly assured" that "there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken".

Later that day, he told the Commons he was "sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times".

On 12 January 2022, he apologised for attending a Downing Street garden party on 20 May 2020 but said he had "believed implicitly" it was a work event.

Here's a full run down of the PM's words on partygate.

The debate on whether a parliamentary committee should investigate Boris Johnson for allegedly misleading the House of Commons is expected to start at around 11:30 BST.

It is likely to go on for several hours - with MPs due to vote at around 17:00 on the government’s amendment seeking to delay Labour's move to open a Commons probe into the PM.

With the government’s sizable majority that is expected to pass, meaning it is unlikely we will get a vote on the Labour motion today.

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One MP who we know will not be voting in the House today is the prime minister himself.

Boris Johnson is on a trip to India, where he told reporters he hopes to broker a post-Brexit trade deal “by the autumn”.

On the flight to Gujarat, Johnson said he intended to fight the next general election, and said there were “not a lot” of circumstances which sprang to mind in which he would resign.

He touched down in Ahmedabad earlier to start a two-day tour - including a visit today to a factory in Gujarat making JCB machinery.

Image source, UK Parliament

Under Labour's plan, MPs would've been asked to vote on whether the Commons privileges committee should open a probe into claims the prime minister misled the House - after the Met Police inquiry into Covid rule breaches concluded.

The committee, which has a Tory majority, would determine whether the PM had committed a “contempt" of Parliament by misleading MPs.

The committee can ask for witnesses to give evidence and produce documents as part of its inquiries.

It can also recommend sanctions including the suspension of an MP - although this requires the approval of the whole House of Commons.

Labour, along with other opposition parties, have called on Boris Johnson to resign.

Image source, PA Media

Over the last few months a series of reports of gatherings at Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid restrictions have been revealed – with the prime minister reported to have been present at several of them.

On 8 December 2021 Boris Johnson was asked in the Commons whether there had been a party at Downing Street on 13 November 2020, something he denied, saying he was sure “all the rules were followed at all times”.

As more revelations came out an inquiry was launched, led by senior civil Servant Sue Gray.

But her report was delayed and then published only in an initial form after the Met Police launched its own criminal investigation.

As part of the police probe Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were issued fixed penalty notices for a gathering on the PM’s birthday in June 2020.

Johnson has apologised and paid the fine but the opposition has renewed its calls for him to resign amid accusations he misled Parliament.

Image source, Reuters

Hello and welcome to our coverage as MPs prepare to debate whether an investigation should be carried out into Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statements about coronavirus lockdown gatherings in Downing Street.

We were expecting the Commons to vote on whether the privileges committee should launch a probe into allegations the PM misled the house intentionally.

But the government has since added an amendment calling for the vote to be delayed until after the Met Police and civil servant Sue Gray have finished their investigations into alleged Covid rule breaches.

Along with his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the PM was fined by police for breaking Covid laws at a June 2020 birthday party for him in No 10.

Johnson had previously told MPs that no laws were broken in Downing Street - leading opposition parties to accuse him of having misled Parliament.

Under the ministerial code ministers who intentionally mislead Parliament are expected to resign.