Johnson makes his partygate defence

Boris Johnson has today published his long-awaited ‘partygate’ defence, ahead of his appearance before the Privileges Committee tomorrow afternoon. In the 52-page submission, Johnson accepts that he did mislead the House of Commons when he said that ‘the rules and guidance had been followed at all times’ during Covid. But he insists he made his statements ‘in good faith’ and that he ‘would never have dreamed’ of doing so intentionally. The committee claims that his submission ‘contains no new documentary evidence’; sources close to Johnson dispute this.

Johnson’s defence broadly relies on three familiar arguments. The first is the absence of any smoking gun which proves that he definitely knew that the rules had been broken. He submits that: ‘There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event may have broken rules or guidance.’ He adds that the only evidence that he intentionally misled the Commons is from the ‘discredited Dominic Cummings’, and that Cummings’s assertions are not ‘supported by any documentation’.