BORIS' DOSSIER
Boris Johnson admits he DID mislead Commons ‘unknowingly’ over partygate but insists he acted in ‘good faith’
BORIS Johnson today admitted he DID mislead the Commons about illegal parties in Downing Street - but insists he did so unknowingly and in "good faith".
In a 52-page bombshell dossier submitted to the Privileges Committee, the ex-PM argues the only person calling him a deliberate liar is his old right-hand-man turned nemesis, Dominic Cummings.
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"There is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House," a defiant Boris said.
"The only exception is the assertions of the discredited Dominic Cummings, which are not supported by any documentation. "
The arguments inside Boris' bombshell dossier
- Dominic Cummings is the only person who attended the lockdown parties saying Boris knew they broke pandemic rules and guidelines
- There aren't any documents that indicate Boris received warnings that the parties were illegal
- The "vast majority" of people who have given evidence to the Privileges Committee say they didn't consider their attendance at parties to be a breach of rules
- The Privileges Committee has gone beyond the scope of its own probe by accusing the ex-PM of breaching guidance
- No cake was eaten at the lockdown "birthday party" in the Cabinet Room
- A Downing Street snapper wouldn't have taken official pictures of the parties if there was a fear of illegality
Boris' explosive document was submitted to the Privileges Committee yesterday and published online this morning.
It outlines the ex-PM's main defence against accusations he knowingly misled MPs about pandemic parties.
Lying at the Commons despatch box is considered a major breach of the Ministerial Code and can result in an MP being suspended or even facing a recall petition from constituents.
The dossier comes as the ex-PM is due to appear before the Privileges Committee TOMORROW.
In a live televised hearing, the seven-member panel will grill him on what he knew about No.10 parties for up to five hours.
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Mr Cummings vowed to hit back at allegations Boris made against him in the dossier during tomorrow's session.
"I’m in the middle of writing my own statement to the official inquiry and therefore reading a lot about Covid again," the former aide wrote on his personal blog.
"So I’ll watch and post thoughts on how he tries to lie his way to safety."
Mr Johnson insists he never realised a multitude of boozy gatherings in No.10 breached lockdown rules rule.
In the dossier he argued there's a complete lack of written and oral evidence from those who attended the parties that they understood rules were being broken.
And the ex-PM said no aides or staff warned him of breaches either.
"There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event broke or may have broken the Rules or Guidance."
The ex-PM claimed the fact that No.10's official photographer snapped the gatherings shows he had no idea rules were being broken.
"A suggestion that we would have held events which were 'obviously' contrary to the Rules and Guidance, and allowed those events to be immortalised by the official photographer is implausible."
Boris also slammed the idea that he knew he was breaking rules during a gathering in the Cabinet Room on his birthday.
The Met Police fined Rishi Sunak and his predecessor for breaching rules by attending the event, where a cake and snacks were present.
But BoJo said: "It never occurred to me then or at any time prior to the Police issuing the fixed penalty notice, that the event was not in compliance with the Rules or the Guidance.
"I was in the Cabinet Room for a work meeting and was joined by a small gathering of people, all of whom lived or were working in the building.
"We had a sandwich lunch together and they wished me Happy Birthday. I was not told in advance that this would happen. No cake was eaten, and no-one even sang “happy birthday”."
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In the dossier Boris also took a swing at the Privileges Committee for trying "unilaterally to expand its mandate".
The committee was originally tasked with investigating whether the ex-PM deliberately lied to MPs about pandemic parties.
But now he says they will look into whether he misled Parliament due to "recklessness".
"It is not clear what subsequently transpired to embolden the Committee to seek unilaterally to expand its mandate," the ex-PM said.
"It is obviously inappropriate, impermissible, and unfair."
Boris added: "I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the rules and guidance had been followed completely at No.10.
"But when the statements were made, they were made in good
faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the
time.
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"I did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House.
"I would never have dreamed of doing so."
Responding to the dossier, Boris ally and ex-minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said: "Boris Johnson did not intentionally mislead the House, he made statements in good faith with the information provided to him.
"This should now exonerate him. So far, after 10 months, not a single piece of evidence has been produced to prove otherwise. The process is unjust, unprecedented and could set a dangerous precedent for all MPs."
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Ex-minister James Duddridge chimed in: "I have now read the Boris submission. It supports his assertion he did not intentionally mislead the House.
"For God’s sake can we now get back to reducing inflation, cutting the deficit and growing the economy."
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