Boris Johnson may have to resign if he is found to have lied to Parliament over the “partygate” scandal, a minister has suggested.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab refused to be drawn into a “hypothetical” situation of the Prime Minister finding himself in such a position. However, he said that under the ministerial code, if a minister lies to the Commons and refuses to correct the untruth, then it would “normally be a resigning matter”.
Mr Raab’s comments came after the bombshell accusation by Mr Johnson’s former top adviser, Dominic Cummings, that the Prime Minister lied to the Commons over the “bring-your-own-booze” gathering on May 20, 2020, in the garden of No10 when the UK was in lockdown. Mr Cummings, who himself has been the subject of Covid regulation-busting accusations over his trip to Barnard Castle, claimed that he and other eyewitnesses were willing to swear under oath that Mr Johnson agreed the party should go ahead despite warnings from at least two people that it should not.
He alleged that he and another senior official warned the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, that his “BYOB” invitation to around 100 staff was against coronavirus rules. “I said to the PM something like: Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse. The PM waved it aside,” the ex-adviser, who left No10 in November 2020, said on his blog.
However, Mr Raab, speaking ahead of Cabinet this morning, dismissed as “nonsense” that Mr Johnson lied to Parliament. The Justice Secretary told Times Radio: “He’s made it very clear to the House of Commons that questions on this... that he thought it was a work event.”
But the Cabinet minister was pressed on what would be expected if Mr Johnson had lied to the Commons.
“He would normally, if it is not corrected, and if it’s lying and deliberate in the way you have described and it’s not corrected immediately, it would normally under the Ministerial Code and the governance around Parliament be a resigning matter,” Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“What I am absolutely saying is the standards are there for a reason. People in public office are meant to hold the highest standards and I think it’s absolutely right.” He also admitted there was a perception of double standards among the public over the parties furore which he said was politically “toxic”, with the Tories having plummeted in the polls.
At Westminster, many Tory MPs were in a fretful mood as they waited for the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the parties at No10 while Britain was in lockdown or under other Covid restrictions. Some local Tories were putting pressure on their MPs to move to topple Mr Johnson. Richard Fuller, Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire, said he believed the Prime Minister was telling the truth about the May 20 party.
But when asked if Mr Johnson should resign if he is found to have lied, he told Talk Radio: “Of course there has to be those sorts of consequences but that is a matter for the processes we have.” A handful of Tory MPs have gone public in calling on Mr Johnson to quit and unconfirmed reports suggest around 30 letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister have been sent to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs.
Fifty-four letters are needed to trigger a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership. Many Tory MPs are waiting for the Gray report before deciding whether he should stay in office.
If she finds possible breaches of the Covid laws, the Metropolitan Police will come under mounting pressure to launch an investigation.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, who also oversees the police in the capital, stressed he did not want to interfere in the row on whether Scotland Yard should be launching an inquiry. However, he told Sky News: “Nobody is above the law and police should follow the evidence. From what I’ve seen as someone outside the police, for me it’s a slam dunk.” With the Prime Minister having apologised for the May 20 party, he added: “For me there has been an admission of liability by the Prime Minister,” adding that he believed he should resign.
Whitehall officials declined to say if Mr Cummings had already given evidence to Ms Gray or whether he would be asked to in the future. While it is understood that former government officials and advisers like Mr Cummings would be harder to compel to give evidence, he would be likely to co-operate given his public statements.
Officials hope Ms Gray’s report could be completed by the end of this week.
A No 10 spokesman has insisted Mr Johnson had apologised to the House and that he “believed implicitly” that he had been attending a work event.
“It is untrue that the Prime Minister was warned about the event in advance,” the spokesman said, adding that Mr Johnson would be making a further statement when senior civil servant Sue Gray has completed her inquiry into party allegations.
