Boris Johnson will resign if he misled Parliament over Partygate - but only if he did it ‘knowingly’, Downing Street declared today.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he “abides by” the Ministerial Code, which said ministers who “knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation”.
But he hastily denied the PM had ever lied to Parliament, and urged journalists not to “jump ahead” of a fact-finding report on parties across Whitehall.
The pale and drawn Prime Minister today finally broke a five-day silence after a family member tested positive for Covid.
He again claimed “nobody told me” the May 20 party broke Covid rules.
And the Prime Minister today launched so-called ‘Operation Save Big Dog’ into full flow as neither he nor ministers made any mention of Partygate at a Cabinet meeting this morning.
The flailing PM even tried to shore up his future by boasting about what he’ll achieve in his “third parliamentary session” - which would only end next year or the year after.
But his Chancellor and leadership rival Rishi Sunak abruptly ended an interview after having to deny Mr Johnson lied.
It comes after Boris Johnson ’s deputy Dominic Raab said a Prime Minister who intentionally misled Parliament would “normally” be expected to resign - but insisted the idea was “hypothetical”.
Mr Raab was dispatched to defend his boss after ex-aide Dominic Cummings said Boris Johnson lied to Parliament about a BYOB gathering on 20 May 2020.
The Prime Minister told MPs he “believed implicitly” it was a work event.
But Mr Cummings said principle private secretary (PPS) Martin Reynolds agreed to speak to Mr Johnson ahead of the event when another official said on e-mail that it broke the rules.
Mr Cummings also said he personally raised the “drinks party” with Boris Johnson and called No10 a “madhouse” but the Prime Minister "waved it aside".
If true, this means the PM lied to the house in his apology last week.
The Ministerial Code says: "Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister."
Boris Johnson's spokesman said: “The guidance is clear, the Ministerial Code is very clear on this point, when it comes to knowingly misleading the House.
“And the Prime Minister abides by that and we fully support it”.
Asked to clarify that if the PM misled the House, he would resign, the spokesman said: "It’s important not to jump ahead and seek to conflate what is clearly set out in the Ministerial Code, which the Prime Minister has brought, and conflate that with what the investigation may or may not conclude or set out."
Asked if the PM had ever lied to the House, he replied: "No."
But No10 refused to say Mr Johnson would repeat his version of events under oath - as Dominic Cummings has said he would.
“Well, I haven’t asked the Prime Minister that specific question," the PM's spokesman said.
“But you’ve seen us say repeatedly that it’s untrue the Prime Minister was warned about the event in advance, and you’ve got the PM’s statement to the House.”
Top civil servant Sue Gray has interviewed the PM, and is expected to deliver a report as soon as this week on a string of parties across No10 and Whitehall between May 2020 and April 2021.
But her report is set to set out the facts and has no remit to recommend sanctions for the PM.
Only Lord Geidt, another advisor, can decide if the PM has broken the Ministerial Code. He can only start an investigation with the PM’s permission, and his findings can be overruled by the PM.
No10 refused to say if Boris Johnson’s phone will be made available to Sue Gray, saying: “I’m not going to comment on what information the investigation has or has not sought or what access to certain items it has sought either.”
Asked if it was possible the PM accidentally forgot being warned about the party, the PM’s spokesman replied: “You’ve got the PM’s statement to the House, I don’t have anything to add beyond that.”
No10 did not rule out Dominic Cummings being interviewed by Sue Gray. The spokesman said: "If anyone has information relevant to the investigation, they should come forward to the investigation team."
It came as two serving ministers broke cover to offer criticism of the PM’s No10 operation - after six backbench MPs called for him to resign.
Science minister George Freeman said people in positions of power "shouldn't seek to escape public responsibility or accountability", adding: "The prime minister and his office should set the highest standards."
Health minister Maria Caulfield said that whether or not rules were "technically" breached, "the spirit of the rules" was broken.
One MP told the Mirror Tories are “grinding slowly” towards the 54 letters needed to trigger a no confidence vote.
But No10 said Cabinet ministers made no mention of Partygate at a meeting today - where Mr Johnson instead boasted about his long future ahead.
He claimed Tory policies were making a “real and noticeable difference to lives and livelihoods”, despite warnings the number of families spending 10% of their pay on energy bills will triple in April.
“The Prime Minister said the government will use the third parliamentary session to further deliver on these priorities”, No10 declared.
