Boris Johnson has been grilled by a committee of MPs on whether he intentionally misled Parliament over lockdown-era gatherings at No 10
He was pressed repeatedly over how he could not have known that various events - including leaving dos - breached guidance and rules
But he strongly defended certain events as having been "essential", including one where he was pictured raising a glass at a leaving do
He was also pushed on whom he took advice from before making denials in the Commons, with chair Harriet Harman saying he relied on "flimsy assurances"
"You did not take proper advice," Tory MP Bernard Jenkin told Johnson, to which the ex-PM responded: "This is complete nonsense"
Johnson swore on a Bible at the start of the session that he would tell the truth - and he insisted he "did not lie" to the House of Commons
He insisted that everything he said to Parliament was "in good faith" and on the advice of his officials
The evidence "bundle" expected from the Privileges Committee has now been published online.
You can read it here, external.
Stay with us as we delve into the details with the help of our political correspondents.
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
While many eyes are on Boris Johnson’s committee appearance – there’s another big story brewing.
MPs are voting later on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland; the Windsor Framework.
It looks like the rebellion is growing pace this morning.
The last two PMs – Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – are voting against the government. Both think the plans undermine the UK’s ability to diverge from EU rules.
The Telegraph is also reporting Iain Duncan Smith will rebel. That’s not unexpected – but does mean three former Tory leaders are voting against the plans.
We’ll be keeping an eye on that too. But it’s another headache for Rishi Sunak this morning.
The Privileges Committee is due to publish evidence on its website before MPs on the panel grill Boris Johnson later.
Stay on this page as we digest the information.
Image source, Getty ImagesWriting ahead of Boris Johnson's appearance in front of the Privileges Committee, the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group said Johnson would "once again get the chance to spin his lies about how he managed Covid-19."
Writing on Twitter, external, the group said it was "obvious that Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament and should resign as an MP".
It added: "Far worse though is the lies he deliberately told to bereaved families, after failing to protect our loved ones. His claim that he did so in 'good faith' is sickening."
"In 2021, Boris Johnson looked bereaved families in the eye and told us he’d done everything he could to protect our loved ones.
"That wasn’t true and he’ll have to live with the knowledge of the harm he did and the lies he told for the rest of his life."
Johnson denies misleading Parliament deliberately.
Paul Goodman, editor of the ConservativeHome website, has been on BBC Radio 4's Today programme speaking about a recent poll, external, which shows that only a minority of around 650 Tory party members want him to return as leader.
He says there is a sense from the findings that Johnson's time is gone, and that perhaps "the dogs are barking and the caravan is beginning to move on".
He says if Johnson is judged to have misled the Commons deliberately, MPs would have to vote on whether or not they agree with the Committee's findings.
"How they feel about Boris Johnson is going to affect how they vote,” he adds.
Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent
A key question today is why Boris Johnson misled MPs.
Not whether he misled Parliament; he’s admitted he did.
But whether he meant it or not.
Johnson argues it was accidental; that his comments were based on his honest belief and advice from aides.
Other aren’t convinced.
The committee suggested it should have been obvious to Johnson that the rules weren’t being followed. He was, after all, the man explaining them to people in press conferences – and had attended many of the events.
So some believe Johnson’s misleading of Parliament was either reckless or even deliberate, however hard the latter may be the prove.
That’s what MPs will be probing today.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe’ll have to wait until the summer for the final verdict of the Privileges Committee - but here's a look how the different scenarios could unfold for Boris Johnson.
If he's cleared of contempt of Parliament
This doesn't look a likely outcome. Boris Johnson has accepted that some of his statements did mislead MPs - though says this was not deliberate.
The committee will have to decide if the misleading statements amounted to a "contempt" - something that impacted on the functioning of Parliament.
They will, though, take into account what they think his intention was and how quickly he corrected the record.
If they decide he wasn't in contempt, there won't be any sanction.
If he's found to have been in contempt of Parliament, is suspended and loses his seat
At the other end of the scale is the worst-case scenario for Johnson.
Firstly, the committee would have to decide that Johnson had not only misled Parliament but that his words impacted on its "proper functioning".
MPs on the panel would have to conclude that this was so severe that they decide to recommend one of the most severe punishments available to them: suspension from the Commons for 10 sitting days or more.
That would trigger a recall petition. If 10% of eligible registered voters in his Uxbridge constituency signed the petition, his seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would be called.
An MP who is kicked out through this process is allowed to stand in any subsequent by-election to try to win the seat back.
If he's found to have misled Parliament but gets a different punishment
Sanctions could range from asking him to make a written apology, or making him apologise in person in the Commons, all the way up to a suspension.
The timeline of Boris Johnson’s Partygate statements in House of Commons
As we've been reporting, Boris Johnson faces a grilling from the Commons Privileges Committee later.
MPs will ask if - when he made these comments - he inadvertently, recklessly or intentionally misled Parliament.
Johnson accepts that some of his statements about lockdown parties at Downing Street turned out to be incorrect, but insists that he did not mislead MPs on purpose.
Watch the video above to see what he said in the House of Commons.
Image source, ReutersThe plans were announced by current PM Rishi Sunak and top EU official Ursula von der Leyen last month
Boris Johnson is not only in the headlines for Partygate this morning (nor for the morning jog mentioned in our last post).
The former prime minister has said he’ll vote against the Windsor Framework in Parliament later - distancing himself from the plan of the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to deal with post-Brexit trade issues in Northern Ireland.
There will be a break in this afternoon’s Privileges Committee hearing for MPs to vote on the deal. Some Conservative MPs and the DUP are expected to vote against too.
The European Research Group (ERG) has criticised the deal but its members have not all said how they will vote.
Johnson told The Telegraph that Sunak’s proposals would keep Northern Ireland "captured by the EU legal order" and were "not acceptable".
It's a sight that political-watchers are used to by now - Boris Johnson has been pictured out on a jog in London this morning.
The former prime minister is due to give evidence on Partygate before the Privileges Committee this afternoon.
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
Image source, EPA
Image source, PA MediaJohnson and Rishi Sunak at a Downing Street gathering for Johnson's birthday in June 2020
The seven MPs on the committee will determine whether Boris Johnson committed a so-called "contempt" of Parliament by preventing it from doing its job of holding him to account.
They have decided that whether or not he intended to mislead MPs does not matter when it comes to judging whether this offence was committed.
But if they find that Johnson was deliberately misleading in his statements, then his intentions will be considered when deciding any punishment they recommend.
A finding that he deliberately misled MPs is likely to attract the strongest sanction.
Another option is a finding that Johnson "recklessly" misled Parliament - which could produce a sanction that is less severe.
The former PM's allies have accused the committee of upending convention in this area and being biased against him.
The committee has rejected this, saying it has been acting on the advice of impartial officials.
Image source, PA MediaBoris Johnson speaks after the publication of Sue Gray's 2022 report into lockdown parties
In late 2021, stories began emerging of partying in Westminster at times of Covid restrictions.
On several occasions afterwards, Boris Johnson told MPs all pandemic rules were followed.
Opposition parties accused Johnson of misleading MPs about this, and a probe by the Privileges Committee was commissioned to examine this in April last year.
Separately, an investigation by senior official Sue Gray found widespread rule-breaking had in fact taken place. Police fined 83 people, including Johnson himself.
Seven MPs on the Privileges Committee will determine whether Johnson prevented Parliament from doing its job of holding him to account, known as “contempt”.
Chris Mason
Political editor
Image source, PA MediaBoris Johnson is walking, talking political theatre. It has always been his great political knack: compelling to some, infuriating to others.
A headline-generating, column-filling, attention-grabbing outsized personality. He attracts loyalty from some, opprobrium from others.
And, yet again, he is back.
The prime minister before last was never likely to dissolve into the ether, gently fade out and disappear. And he hasn't. This return to the fray isn't voluntary or even welcome from his perspective, relitigating as it does his character, his judgment, his believability.
Is what we will hear from him likely to change your mind about Johnson? That will ultimately be your call. But my hunch is for most people beyond Westminster - and most people here too - it won't.
Image source, PA MediaAhead of this afternoon’s hearing, Boris Johnson published a long defence of his actions.
In the 52 pages he put out yesterday, he accepted that he misled Parliament when he said Covid rules and guidance had been followed completely at No 10.
But he said he had not "intentionally or recklessly" misled MPs, because his statements were made "in good faith" and on the basis of what he believed at the time.
Johnson insisted he corrected the record "at the earliest opportunity" - something the committee has previously disputed - and said it was "reasonable" for him to rely on assurances from his advisers that rules were followed.
He also launched an attack on the committee itself - which is chaired by a Labour MP but has a Conservative majority - accusing it of being "highly partisan”.
James FitzGerald
Live reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesHello and welcome to a bumper day of Westminster coverage.
Former PM Boris Johnson is to be grilled on camera at 14:00 by a committee of MPs over statements he made about Covid rule-breaking gatherings in Downing Street.
Before then, we’ll be poring over a “core bundle” of documents which the committee is set to publish in advance.
Our political editor Chris Mason calls today “the latest of many episodes in the Boris Johnson box set drama”.
Johnson published a 52-page defence, external yesterday, accepting he misled Parliament but insisting his assurances to MPs that lockdown rules had been followed were made in "good faith".
Jamie Whitehead and Aoife Walsh are joining me for today's intrigue - and our political correspondents will be on hand to guide you through all the twists and turns.