Boris Johnson: Former Prime Minister faced questions from MPs over lockdown parties

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson faced questions from MPs

Lots of people have been talking about the former prime minister (PM) Boris Johnson and some of the things he said and did during his time as the nation's leader.

On Wednesday he was questioned by a group of Members of Parliament (MPs) known as the Privileges Committee.

They were asking him to go over again what he told Parliament about the parties that happened in Downing Street - where the prime minister lives and works - during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gatherings there which broke lockdown rules led to both Mr Johnson and current PM Rishi Sunak being fined by the police.

Why did Boris Johnson meet the Privileges Committee?

The committee was looking into claims Mr Johnson failed to tell the truth to Parliament.

It's after he and people who worked at top levels of the government were accused of holding and attending several gatherings when lockdown rules were in place.

At that time, there were strict limits on how many people could meet with one another and many people were upset the government appeared to have broken its own rules.

Boris Johnson was questioned over whether he misled Parliament in certain statements he made about the events and the lockdown rules he was accused of breaking.

In December 2021, Mr Johnson told the House of Common - which is one of the two houses in Parliament - that he'd been repeatedly told there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.

However, there were accusations the former prime minister wasn't telling the full truth and evidence surfaced later which suggested the rules had been broken.

Mr Johnson was later fined by police, along with the current PM Rishi Sunak, who at that time worked closely beside him as the chancellor.

Getting something wrong or making a mistake when speaking in Parliament does happen, and when it does, politicians are allowed to come back and correct what they said.

But deliberately not telling the truth is seen as really serious and could lead to a politician being suspended or even losing their seat.

What happened at Boris Johnson's Privileges Committee session?

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street together in 2020

Boris Johnson was questioned about events in Downing Street for nearly three hours by the Privileges Committee.

Mr Johnson has always said he did not intentionally mislead or lie to Parliament about the gatherings.

He admitted that social distancing had not been "perfect" at gatherings in Downing Street, but they were "essential" work events which he said were allowed.

He added that the guidance, as he understood it, was followed at all times.

Here are some key moments:

• What would you have said at a press conference?

Mr Johnson was asked if he would have said it was OK for organisations to hold "un-socially distanced farewell gatherings in the workplace" during his Covid press conferences.

The former prime minister replied saying it was up to organisations to decide how they applied the guidance.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson, said this was an important question because during the Covid pandemic Mr Johnson highlighted the important need for social distancing at press conferences.

The committee wanted to make it clear to Mr Johnson that having two leaving parties in November 2020 may have been against the guidance.

Therefore he may have known he was misleading the Commons when he said guidance had been followed "completely."

• 'Slipped my mind'

The committee asked Mr Johnson if he had "reflected" on the June 2020 birthday gathering - where he was fined by police for attending and breaking lockdown rules.

Mr Johnson said: "No I didn't, and that's because it was a long time ago, I'm afraid it had entirely slipped my mind, and I thought it was a completely innocent event. It was a very brief event."

He had previously told the Commons that Covid rules and guidance had been followed at all times.

This was another example of the committee trying to uncover whether it would have been "obvious" to Mr Johnson that guidance has been broken, particularly because the birthday gathering was attended by his wife, son and interior designer - who did not need to be there for work purposes.

What happens next for Boris Johnson?

Boris Johnson will face the a committee of MPs on Wednesday

The Privileges Committee needs to decide if Mr Johnson was carelessly misleading or intentionally misleading.

The group will meet again next week and once it's collected all the evidence, they'll write up a report.

Mr Johnson will then be given two weeks to read and reply to their report before it is released.

It's expected that will happen in late spring or early summer.

If Mr Johnson is found to have misled Parliament, the committee will also have to decide whether this met the standards for what's known as contempt of Parliament.

This is when the actions of an MP interferes with or disrupts how Parliament functions.

They will then decide on a punishment, which could range from an apology or suspended from Parliament.

Whatever the outcome, Boris Johnson's political reputation could be affected.