Nobody warned me drinks event was against rules - Boris Johnson
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Watch how Boris Johnson reacts when asked if apologising to the Queen was a moment of shame
Boris Johnson has "categorically" denied he was warned a drinks party in the No 10 garden risked breaking lockdown rules.
"Nobody warned me that it was against the rules," the prime minister said, adding: "I would have remembered that."
Former aide Dominic Cummings says he warned Mr Johnson at the time, and has accused him of misleading MPs about it.
Asked if he would resign if he was found to have misled MPs, Mr Johnson said: "Let's see what the report says."
Senior civil servant Sue Gray is due to publish a report into alleged Covid rule-breaking at lockdown get-togethers in Downing Street and government departments.
Ms Gray's team has approached Mr Cummings as part of their inquiry, the BBC has been told. He has said he is willing to answer any questions they may have.
Six MPs have publicly revealed they have submitted letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson, and the BBC has been told a seventh, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, has also written to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee.
The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg says a group of about 20 Conservative MPs who were first elected in 2019 have also been meeting to discuss submitting letters to Sir Graham.
If 54 MPs send letters to Sir Graham expressing no confidence in the prime minister, it will trigger a leadership contest.
One MP trying to remove the prime minister told the BBC they thought the threshold could be reached saying: "I think we've done it, difficult to tell though."
'Bumpy'
Our political editor said it was not clear how many of the 2019 intake MPs talking about submitting letters on Wednesday, would go ahead and do it.
A senior MP told the BBC it could be "a matter of hours" before things move.
But a cabinet member denied there was a big threat to the prime minister, telling the BBC: "It will be bumpy, but we'll get through."
They dubbed the meeting of 2019 MPs the "pork pie plot", because one of the attendees was Alicia Kearns, who represents Rutland and Melton (home of Melton Mowbray pies).
However, colleagues of Ms Kearns say she is not leading a rebellion.
It comes as Mr Johnson made a public apology to the Queen over No 10 parties on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April last year.
Appearing to be distressed as he was quizzed about the parties, he said: "I deeply and bitterly regret that that happened.
"I can only renew my apologies both to Her Majesty and to the country for misjudgements that were made, and for which I take full responsibility."
On Friday, Downing Street apologised to Buckingham Palace over the two staff parties - which were not attended by Mr Johnson - on 16 April, 2021.
The following day, the Queen sat alone - socially distanced from her family - as she mourned her husband.
The Queen sat alone at her husband's funeral
In his blog, external, Dominic Cummings, who was still working in Downing Street at the time of the drinks party on 20 May 2020, claimed the PM had waved aside his warnings.
Mr Cummings said the idea that a senior aide - the PM's Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds - would not have checked with Mr Johnson, after he was warned his invitation to drinks in the Number 10 garden broke the rules, "is not credible".
Two other former Downing Street officials told the BBC they remembered Mr Cummings telling them on that day he had advised the prime minister not to allow the drinks to go ahead.
Asked about Mr Cummings' claims on a visit to a North London hospital, Mr Johnson said: "I can tell you categorically that nobody said that this was something that was against the rules, that was in breach of the Covid rules."
You might call it the "nobody told me" defence.
But will a mixture of pleading ignorance and showing contrition be enough for the prime minister?
He was, of course, the person in charge, who decided how we all had to limit our behaviour during the pandemic, so this line of defence opens him up to new attacks.
Did he understand the rules? Should he have needed someone to point out a breach?
Even if he thought this was a work event, is that enough? - because work events were also prohibited in May 2020.
Sue Gray's inquiry may well find there's no incontrovertible evidence he was, explicitly, told the drinks event in his garden was a breach of the rules.
But what will voters think?
That will shape what Tory MPs think of their leader. It's a delicate position for a prime minister with already slipping poll ratings.
In his interview, Mr Johnson repeated the apology he made to MPs last week for "mistakes" made over the May 2020 get-together.
"As I said in the House of Commons, when I went out into that garden I thought that I was attending a work event."
He said he had not seen the email sent by Mr Reynolds inviting staff to "socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden".
"I only saw it the other day. I only saw it when it emerged," said the PM.
"What I remember is going out into that garden for a short time and for 25 minutes thanking staff who'd worked on Covid, who were continuing to work on Covid, and then going back to the office.
"If I had my time again, I would not have allowed things to develop in that way."
Asked if he had lied to Parliament over the parties, he said: "No. I want to begin by repeating my apologies to everybody for the misjudgements that I've made, that we may have made in No 10 and beyond, whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic."
Downing Street party row
ANALYSIS: What was really going on in No 10 during lockdown?
LAURA KUENSSBERG: No 10 can't control what happens next in party row
REALITY CHECK: The Covid rules when Downing Street parties were held
PROFILE: What is Sue Gray investigating?
TIMELINE: Alleged government lockdown gatherings
Responding to his latest statement, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "Boris Johnson clearly knows it's the end of the road.
"He's the prime minister, he set the rules, he didn't need anyone to tell him that the party he attended broke them.
"If he had any respect for the British public, he would do the decent thing and resign."
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the prime minister was "just making it worse for himself" with his "empty excuses" and "transparent lies".
The SNP's deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald said it was "clear the prime minister was not being frank" about events in the Downing Street garden.
Cabinet minister have rallied round the prime minister, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak saying "of course" he believed Mr Johnson's version of events.
Deputy PM Dominic Raab said prime ministers would normally be expected to resign if they had been found to have misled MPs, but he believed Mr Johnson would remain in power for "many years".
The government has faced intense pressure over events held in an around Downing Street.
Boris Johnson announced a plan to take the “first careful steps" out of the lockdown that began in March 2020. But he said people should continue to "obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them”.
Legal restrictions at the time said you could not leave your house without a reasonable excuse and government guidance was that you could meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor setting while exercising.
A photo from May 2020 showed the prime minister and his staff with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard in the Downing Street garden. When asked about it, Boris Johnson said, “those people were at work talking about work”.
About 100 people were invited by email to “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden” on behalf of the prime minister’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
Witnesses told the BBC the PM and his wife were among about 30 people who attended.
Boris Johnson has confirmed he attended the event, saying he was there for 25 minutes and “believed implicitly that this was a work event”.
A gathering took place in the Cabinet Office to mark the departure of a No 10 private secretary.
On Boris Johnson’s birthday, up to 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room at No 10 to present the prime minister with a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday, according to a report by ITV News.
No 10 said staff had “gathered briefly" to "wish the prime minister a happy birthday", adding that he had been there "for less than 10 minutes”.
Rules at the time banned most indoor gatherings involving more than two people.
Boris Johnson announced plans for a “significant return to normality" in England by Christmas "through targeted, local action” instead of national lockdowns.
But he added that the timetable relied on “every one of us staying alert and acting responsibly”.
With cases of coronavirus rising again, the prime minister told people in England that “we are once again asking you to stay at home” as a new national lockdown began.
He said people should only leave their homes “for work if you can’t work from home, for education, and for essential activities and emergencies”. Indoor gatherings with other households were banned, unless they were for work purposes.
Sources told the BBC that Downing Street staff members attended a gathering with Carrie Johnson in the flat where she and the prime minister live. A spokesman for Mrs Johnson denies the party took place.
A leaving event was held for No 10 aide, Cleo Watson, where people were drinking, and Mr Johnson made a speech, according to sources.
The second national lockdown ended after four weeks but Boris Johnson replaced those restrictions with “tough tiers to keep this virus down”.
London was placed in tier two, which banned two or more people from different households from meeting indoors, unless “reasonably necessary” for work purposes.
The Department for Education has confirmed it had an office gathering to thank staff for their work during the pandemic. It says drinks and snacks were brought by those who attended and no outside guests or support staff were invited.
The Conservative Party has admitted that an “unauthorised gathering” took place at its HQ in Westminster. It was held by the team of the party's London-mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, who has since stepped down as chair of the London Assembly police and crime committee. The Metropolitan Police is to speak to two people who attended the party.
Multiple sources have told the BBC there was a Christmas quiz for No 10 staff last year. A photo - published by the Sunday Mirror - showed Boris Johnson taking part and sitting between two colleagues in No 10. Mr Johnson has denied any wrongdoing.
London moved into the highest tier of restrictions and Matt Hancock, who was health secretary at the time, said it was important “everyone is cautious” ahead of the festive period.
The Department for Transport apologised after confirming reports of a party in its offices that day, calling it “inappropriate" and an "error of judgment” by staff.
A leaving party was held at the Cabinet Office for the outgoing head of the civil service Covid taskforce - the team responsible for drawing up coronavirus restrictions.
Kate Josephs, now chief executive of Sheffield City Council, apologised for the event, saying she was “truly sorry that I did this and for the anger that people will feel as a result”.
Downing Street originally denied a report by the Daily Mirror that a party took place in Downing Street.
However, a video obtained by ITV News showed the prime minister's then-press secretary Allegra Stratton, joking about reports of an event, saying: “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”
A gathering was held in No 10 Downing Street to mark the departure of two private secretaries.
Lockdown restrictions were eased in England, with pubs and restaurants allowed to reopen with outdoor service only.
However, working from home continued to be recommended and socialising indoors with people from other households was not allowed. Meeting others outdoors was limited to groups of six people or two households.
Two parties were held by Downing Street staff at No 10, the night before Prince Philip's funeral.
One of the events was a leaving party for the PM's then director of communications James Slack, who has apologised for the event and acknowledged it “should not have happened at the time that it did”.
Boris Johnson was not at either party.