Partygate: Boris Johnson says full facts needed before vote on investigation

Boris Johnson says MPs should have the "full facts" on Partygate before ordering an inquiry into whether he misled them about lockdown parties.

MPs are set to vote on Thursday on a Labour plan for a Commons committee to investigate his past comments about Whitehall gatherings.

But ministers now say that vote should wait until probes by the Met Police and civil servant Sue Gray have finished.

Mr Johnson will miss the debate as he is in India for an official visit.

Speaking during his trip, he said he was "very keen for every possible form of scrutiny", but he wanted to focus on the "amazing opportunities" developing between the UK and India

Earlier, Mr Johnson had told reporters he would fight the next general election and would not say if there were any circumstances under which he would resign.

• How many fines have been issued over Partygate?

• What did Boris Johnson tell Parliament about parties?

• Sue Gray report: What is she looking at?

• What Covid rules were broken?

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

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

Mr Johnson has denied knowingly misleading MPs - a charge that is a resigning matter under the ministerial rulebook.

Labour's plan - which is backed by other opposition parties - is to have the Commons Privileges Committee launch an inquiry into whether he did, once the police investigation has finished.

Some rebel Tory MPs were threatening to vote with Labour, or not at all.

But the government has tabled its own amendment to Labour's proposal, to say a vote on whether they should investigate should wait until the police have concluded their investigations and Ms Gray has published her report.

The Conservatives have a 70 seat majority in the Commons. However, Leader of the House Mark Spencer said it would be a free vote and the party's MPs would not be ordered to support the government.

The government said a delay would allow MPs "to have all the facts at their disposal" when they made a decision.

Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting accused the Conservatives of "kicking the can down the road".

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme he said: "Conservative MPs must decide today: are they standing with their voters, who are furious, or are they standing the their discredited, deceitful prime minister?"

One Conservative MP, Peter Aldous, said he stuck by his previous calls for the PM to step down, arguing that the row was "getting in the way of good government".

No 10 insiders say they were confident they could have killed off an inquiry today - as not enough Tory MPs were prepared to rebel against the government.

But there was clearly anxiety among Tory MPs about being forced to publicly block an investigation.

Which one of them wanted to have their face displayed on social media ads and leaflets in May's local elections, accused of taking part in a "stitch-up"?

The bet ministers are making is that once the Met investigation and Sue Gray's report are finished and published, there may not be appetite for yet another investigation into lockdown parties.

But should more fines emerge, or Sue Gray's report reveal particularly damning evidence, this could become more risky.

All they've done for now is delay the decision on whether the prime minister should face investigation, not killed it off completely.

It's a gamble, it seems, they are willing to make.

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

Apologising for his fine on Tuesday, he said he respected the police's decision but argued that he did not think he was breaking the law at the time.

Sir Keir Starmer called his apology a "joke", and accused him of offering "insulting" and "absurd" excuses for his Covid fine.

Under Labour's plan, the Privileges Committee - made up of seven MPs - would begin a probe after the Met inquiry has 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 suspension of an MP - although this requires the approval of the whole House of Commons.

What has the PM told MPs about parties?

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.

• THE MAN WHO FAKED HIS DEATH: A true story of lies and fraud

• LAST DAYS OF THE DINOSAURS: Incredible discoveries brought to life by David Attenborough