More than three-quarters of people think Boris Johnson has lied about Partygate. The results of a poll by The Times/YouGov, published on Thusrday, show that it includes 61% of Conservative voters.
People were asked if they thought the Prime Minister had or hadn't lied over parties held at Downing Street. Some 78% think he has lied and just 8% say he hasn't. Of those who think he did was 61% of 2019 Conservative voters. Of those, 51% say they would still vote for the party at a future election.
The polling shows that 95% of people who voted Labour in 2019 think he lied, and 97% of 2019 Liberal Democrat voters did. There were 8% of people who answered "has not lied". Of those who answered "don't know", 22% were 2019 Conservative voters, 3% were Labour voters in 2019 and 3% were Lib Dems. The Prime Minister this week offered a "whole-hearted" apology over the fine he received for a party on Downing Street.
When it comes to those who voted remain, 97% think he lied and 67% of those who voted leave in the referendum did too.
Mr Johnson has travelled to India as MPs prepare to debate whether he deliberately misled Parliament. Asked on the first day of his trade mission to India whether he knowingly or unknowingly misled Parliament, Mr Johnson said: "Of course not".
Speaking ahead of Thursday's Commons vote, the Prime Minister said: "They (MPs) must do whatever they want. That is their prerogative."
Labour put forward a motion on Thursday asking for the Prime Minister to be referred to the Commons' privilege committee, the Government has tabled an amendment to defer the vote on the Commons inquiry until the Metropolitan Police's own probe into lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall has concluded, and the Sue Gray report has been published.
This will allow MPs "to have all the facts at their disposal" when they make a decision, it said. It is understood that all Tory MPs are being whipped to support the amendment.
Boris Johnson defended the Government's efforts to delay any potential parliamentary investigation into his conduct.
"I'm very keen for every possible form of scrutiny and the House of Commons can do whatever it wants to do," he told reporters in India. But all I would say is I don't think that should happen until the investigation is completed."
