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“Whatever the initial intent, what took place at many of these gatherings and the way in which they developed was not in line with Covid guidance at the time.”
—Sue Gray’s report
The findings of the Sue Gray report have led to renewed questions over what Boris Johnson previously told MPs. We’ve taken another look at what exactly the Prime Minister said, and why he’s been accused of misleading Parliament.
Allegations of illegal gatherings in Downing Street were first raised in Parliament on 1 December 2021. The PM was asked if there had been a party on 18 December 2020. He responded that “all guidance was followed completely in Number 10”. A week later he told Parliament “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.”
Of this event, which Mr Johnson did not attend, Sue Gray’s report finds: “Some members of staff drank excessively. The event was crowded and noisy such that some people working elsewhere in the No 10 building that evening heard significant levels of noise coming from what they characterised as a “party” in the Press Office. A cleaner who attended the room the next morning noted that there had been red wine spilled on one wall and on a number of boxes of photocopier paper.”
We cover other dates in our full fact check. But the Prime Minister’s previous claim that “all guidance” was followed “at all times” in Downing Street is clearly contradicted by the outcome of the Metropolitan Police investigation, which resulted in 126 Fixed Penalty Notices issued in connection with the events.
Mr Johnson has himself since acknowledged that what he told Parliament was not correct, saying that while he did not at the time consider any breaches to have taken place, he subsequently accepted that some of the events were against the rules.
However, while Mr Johnson appears to have accepted that he inadvertently misled Parliament, he has strongly denied knowingly misleading Parliament. That is a very different question which has been referred for investigation by the cross-party Commons Privileges Committee.
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So far this year Full Fact has called out dozens of MPs, across the political divide, who have misled the public and failed to correct themselves when challenged. MPs now face a simple choice: put up with a culture of dishonesty, or demand better. Truth shouldn’t be optional in our democracy.
