Boris Johnson's shameless Partygate denials would have led to a 90-day suspension from Parliament if he hadn't quit in fury last week, a bombshell new report has said.
The Commons Privileges Committee, which is made up of four Tories, two Labour MPs, and one from the SNP, found the ex-Prime Minister misled the House in five ways over lockdown boozing and committed multiple contempts of Parliament.
Mr Johnson spoke about Covid rule-breaking in No10 more than 30 times, particularly on December 1 and 8, 2021 and May 25, 2022, where he repeatedly said rules were followed "completely" and "at all times".
This was despite the Metropolitan Police's decision to issue 126 fines for Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street and Whitehall, including to Mr Johnson himself.
The report focused on six parties - five of which he attended include a BYOB booze bash on May 20, 2020, his birthday do on June 19, leaving parties on November 13 and 27 and January 14, 2021, all of which he attended.
The inquiry also examine a No10 Christmas party on December 18, 2020, which Mr Johnson was "briefly in close proximity to".
MPs said some of his denials and explanations for lockdown bashes were "so disingenuous" that they were clearly deliberate attempts to mislead Parliament and the Committee in its inquiries.
Others demonstrated that he had "closed his mind to the truth".
While Mr Johnson can now no longer be suspended, the Committee said he should not be entitled to a former MPs pass - an effective ban from Parliament.
We've gone through the report with a fine toothcomb to bring you all the key findings you need to know.
MPs wanted Boris Johnson suspended for 90 days
The Committee recommended an extraordinarily long suspension of 90 days for Mr Johnson for committing "repeated contempts and seeking to undermine the parliamentary process".
It said he deliberately misled Parliament and the Committee about Partygate, breached the confidence of the Inquiry, impugned the Committee's work and was complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation against MPs.
Misleading the House is "a matter of great importance", the report said, as "if ministers cannot be trusted to tell the truth, the House cannot do its job and the confidence of the public in our democracy is undermined."
Mr Johnson's suspension is one of the longest on record - and NINE times the length needed to trigger a recall petition, which paves the way for a by-election.
Labour MP Keith Vaz was suspended for six months in 2019 for offering to buy drugs for sex workers and failing to cooperate with an inquiry into the matter.
Boris Johnson misled the Commons in FIVE ways
The Committee found that Mr Johnson misled MPs multiple times over his knowledge of lockdown boozing in No10 and Whitehall.
The report points to FIVE different ways he lied to Parliament:
- He said the guidance was followed completely in No10, including at gatherings he attended
- He failed to tell MPs what he knew about rule-breaking gatherings
- He said he relied on assurances from aides that rules hadn't been broken - but these weren't represented accurately
- He said Sue Gray needed to investigate before he could answer questions - despite having personal knowledge
- He said he'd correct the record but continued to mislead MPs and the committee with denials
MPs said he was "deliberately disingenuous" in trying to reframe his statements - and attempting to come up with excuses to justify the parties.
They dismissed his attempts to "rewrite the meaning of the rules and guidance to fit his own evidence".
Johnson committed 'serious contempt' by ranting about 'kangaroo court' report before publication
Mr Johnson sensationally quit as an MP last week with a lengthy rant about the investigation, which he branded a "kangaroo court".
The Committee said it had not finalised its conclusions at this point - and Mr Johnson had broken confidentiality requirements.
It also accused him of "being complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation" against the Committee by his supporters.
It is clear that Mr Johnson's suspension would have been less severe if he hadn't acted in this way.
'Highly unlikely' PM could have really believed parties were within the rules
The probe focused its attention on six parties which Mr Johnson attended or had close promixity to - and had been reported on when he made his denials.
These included a BYOB booze bash on May 20, 2020, his birthday do on June 19, leaving parties on November 13 and 27 and January 14, 2021, all of which he attended.
The inquiry also examine a No10 Christmas party on December 18, 2020, which Mr Johnson was "briefly in close proximity to".
His spin chief Lee Cain told the Committee that the BYOB party was "clearly social and in breach of the guidance" while WhatsApps from another top comms aide Jack Doyle show he was "struggling to come up with a way" to explain how the birthday party was within the rules.
The report said it was "highly unlikely on the balance of probabilities that Mr Johnson....could have genuinely believed at the time of his statements to the House that the Rules or Guidance were being complied with.
"We think it just as unlikely he could have continued to believe this at the time of his evidence to our Committee. We conclude that when he told the House and this Committee that the Rules and Guidance were being complied with, his own knowledge was such that he deliberately misled the House and this Committee."
Ex-PM said BYOB bash was necessary as Cabinet Secretary had resigned - but he hadn't
Mr Johnson's aide Martin Reynolds famously emailed more than 200 people to invite them to a "bring your own booze" bash in the Downing Street garden on May 20, while the country was still in lockdown.
He initially claimed it was necessary as a morale boost for hard-working staff as the then Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill had just stepped down.
In fact, Sir Mark did not resign until June 29 - and Mr Johnson was forced to correct the record.
Mr Johnson told the Committee that "gathering was within the rules and indeed within the guidance". But the Committee said a social gathering for boosting morale was not essential.
Denials about No10 Christmas party 'disingenuous'
MPs accused Mr Johnson of being “disingenuous to the point of being deliberately misleading” over his claim that he relied on information from others that no guidance was broken during the December 18, 2020 party inNo10.
They pointed out he would have seen or heard the gathering as he walked up to his private residence in Downing Street.
The Committee’s report says: “Mr Johnson did not attend this gathering and therefore claims he was dependent on receiving assurances from others that Rules had been complied with.
“If, as we have concluded, Mr Johnson was likely to have been aware of the gathering, having personal knowledge of it as he returned to the stairs leading up to his flat a few metres away, then his claim that he was dependent on assurances was misleading and disingenuous to the point of being deliberately misleading.”
No10 an 'oasis of normality' during the pandemic
A junior official told the Committee that it was clear that Covid rules and guidance were not being followed in Downing Street.
The aide said: “No10, despite setting the rules to the country, was slow to enforce any rules in the building.
"The press office Wine Time Fridays continued throughout, social distancing was not enforced […] This was all part of a wider culture of not adhering to any rules.
"No10 was like an island oasis of normality."
The Mirror revealed that Downing Street staff held 'wine-time Fridays' throughout the pandemic - and the event was so popular that staff invested in a £142 drinks fridge to keep their bottles of white wine, Prosecco and beer cool.
The aide said it was a "pantomime" and claimed security told aides to be mindful of surveillance cameras outside "not to go out in groups and to social distance".
Committee was informed of 16 gatherings in No10 and Chequers
Last month, the Committee was handed bombshell new evidence relating to 16 further gatherings in No10 and the PM's grace and favour country home, Chequers.
The allegations were uncovered in his diary entries by lawyers preparing Mr Johnson's defence for the Covid Inquiry, who notified Cabinet Office officials who in turn informed the police.
The bombshell news caught the ex-PM by surprise, with his team branding it a “clearly politically motivated attempt to manufacture something out of nothing”.
Team Johnson argue that the gatherings were either outside, in line with rule-of-six guidance, or to do with assistance for his wife Carrie who was pregnant at the time.
The number of gatherings being looked at was not known until now.
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