OUR Boris Johnson he deliberately lied when he told MPs that “no law has been broken in downing street in 2020,” according to the findings of the UK Parliament’s cross-party commission set up to investigate the former Prime Minister’s parties in Downing Street when the country was in quarantine because of the coronavirus.

In particular, one member of the committee, which consists mainly of Conservative MPs, said he heard Boris Johnson during a party in the midst of quarantine jokingly remarked that “at the moment we may be the least socially distanced people in Britain.” . In addition, ruling party MPs testified that Johnson “hosted” a Friday night drinking party at 10 Downing Street, while Jack Doyle, then prime minister’s public affairs officer, told a friend that “I’m trying to decide way of saying it’s all legal.”

In an immediate counterattack, Johnson and those Conservative MPs who still support him attempted to discredit the investigation by claiming that its conclusions were based on evidence “organized” by Sue Grey, a senior cabinet official who led the internal inquiry into the events and resigned. Thursday to become chief of staff to opposition leader Keir Starmer.

Purpose of the report

Interestingly, the initiative to write the report was for Johnson’s defense. The report was mainly intended to help the former prime minister answer questions he will be asked in a parliamentary inquiry later this month.

But his 24 pages of facts and footnotes include a plethora of evidence that has been unearthed for the first time, including witness statements and transcripts of communications from employees who could be working against him.

The final opinion will take several months, while Johnson is expected to be called to testify before Parliament in two weeks. However, the first findings seem devastating.

The report said that if the investigating committee finds that Johnson misled parliament, it will consider whether it was intentional and what sanction it would recommend, including removing him from the MP’s office.

Responding to the report, Johnson stated that he “exonerated” it. “The reason it can’t be proven that I knowingly broke the rules is because I didn’t really know it was illegal,” he said.