PM vows to set record straight over claims he misled MPs over parties

Boris Johnson has promised to "set the record straight" over what he has told MPs about lockdown parties in Downing Street.

The prime minister initially told them no rules had been broken - but he is now among more than 50 people who have been fined by police.

This has led opposition parties to accuse him of misleading Parliament.

Under government rules, ministers are expected to resign if they knowingly mislead MPs.

The ministerial rulebook also says they should correct the record at the "earliest opportunity" if they inadvertently tell MPs something incorrect.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Thursday that Mr Johnson was a "lawbreaker and a liar" who has "no honesty and no integrity".

• Minister quits over Covid law-breaking at No 10

• Will there be more fines for No 10 parties?

• The Covid rules when Downing Street parties were held

Mr Johnson, along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was fined on Tuesday for attending a birthday party for him in June 2020.

Mr Johnson has since said it "did not occur" to him at the time of the gathering that it could be in contravention of Covid lockdown rules.

He is known to have attended at least two further events of the 12 being investigated by police, meaning he could be fined again.

One No 10 aide, who witnessed many of the events under investigation, told the BBC the June 2020 birthday party was the least serious gathering, in terms of potential rule-breaking, that the PM attended.

Alongside staff leaving parties on 18 June 2020 and 16 April 2021, the birthday event is among three events so far known to have attracted fines.

'Repeated rule-breaking'

MPs are currently on their Easter recess but are due to return next week.

Asked whether he would put the record straight, Mr Johnson replied: "You're going to have to wait until I come to Parliament.

"Of course, I will set the record straight in any way I can."

On Thursday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told reporters the PM had "clearly misled" MPs and should be "sanctioned by Parliament".

"Liberal Democrats will be supportive of the Speaker in whatever approach he thinks is best to ensure Parliament can hold this law-breaking, dishonest prime minister to account," he added.

It comes amid reports opposition parties could push next week to have the privileges committee investigate whether Mr Johnson misled MPs, a process which could end in him being suspended from the Commons.

What might happen next week?

The fines for the prime minister and the chancellor are bound to trigger some kind of parliamentary hue and cry, but what, exactly?

The key problem for the opposition parties is that any stratagem they devise will not succeed without the support of 40-50 Conservatives - and very few have broken ranks.

So neither the blunt instrument of a no-confidence motion in the government, a targeted no-confidence motion against the PM, nor the more pointed device of a privilege motion calling for an investigation into whether he knowingly misled Parliament seem, as I write, likely to get through a Commons vote.

This is not to say that the opposition won't want to have a public row, to keep the issue alive, force Conservative MPs to publicly defend their leader, and make it as painful as possible.

But they will also wish to avoid any move that simply consolidates Conservative unity around the PM.

Read more from Mark

On Wednesday, Lord David Wolfson resigned as a justice minister over the "official response" to "repeated rule-breaking" within Downing Street.

Opposition parties are calling for the PM and chancellor to resign over their fines - but the two men have been backed by their fellow cabinet ministers.

More than 70 Conservative MPs have also expressed their support for the PM since he was fined, including some who have previously called for him to go.

Since the fines were issued on Tuesday, only four Tory MPs have publicly said that Mr Johnson should quit.

Reports of parties being held in No 10 and other government buildings during lockdowns first emerged in December last year.

Met police initially said they would not retrospectively investigate the allegations unless "significant evidence" of a regulation breach came forward.

But they launched an inquiry after civil servant Sue Gray investigated allegations of rule-breaking and passed information to officers.

Her full report will not be released until the Met has concluded its investigation.

What has the PM told MPs about parties?

When asked whether there was a party in Downing Street on 18 December 2020, the PM 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.