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Boris Johnson embarked on an extraordinary re-writing of history over Partygate as he gave evidence to the Covid inquiry, insisting the public’s perception of lockdown-breaching parties in Number 10 was a “million miles” from the truth.
In comments that will infuriate families bereaved during the Covid pandemic, the former prime minister said the representation of repeated gatherings during the pandemic was “absolutely absurd”.
Pressed about the saga — which sparked his eventual downfall as PM — Mr Johnson said the way Partygate has been presented was a “travesty of truth”.
“I apologise for the offence caused, and if I had my time again of course I’d have done things differently,” Mr Johnson said.
But he added: “The characterization, the representation there has been of what civil servants and advisors were doing in number 10, has been a travesty of the truth.
“They thought they were working very hard, which they were, and I certainly thought that what we were doing was, as I’ve said before, within the rules.”
He added that “the version of events” that has entered the popular consciousness “about what is supposed to have happened in Downing Street is a million miles from the reality of what actually happened in No10”.
Inquiry chair Baroness Hallet slapped down Boris Johnson’s defence of the Partygate scandal, saying that it “exacerbated” the suffering of families bereaved during the pandemic.
“One of the problems is that I’ve received a number of messages from bereaved people as I’ve travelled around the United Kingdom, and so many of them who suffered horrific grief during lockdown,” Baroness Hallett said.
She added that the Partygate scandal “exacerbated” their suffering.
And the Liberal Democrats have slammed Boris Johnson’s attempt to rewrite history on Partygate as “desperate”.
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper told The Independent: “These parties were investigated by the police and Boris Johnson accepted a fine for breaking lockdown rules. It’s baffling that he continues to try and deceive the country.
“Boris Johnson cannot expect his apology to be taken seriously when he continues his desperate attempt to rewrite history.”
It came as Mr Johnson, who quit as an MP before he could be forced out for lying to parliament, backtracked on his own witness statement to the inquiry.
Mr Johnson was grilled by inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC over the claim he knew the controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme was discussed with top scientists Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty before it was launched.
former prime minister Boris Johnson giving evidence to the inquiry (UK Covid-19 Inquiry)
(PA Media)
When questioned —having claimed in his written submission to the probe that it was — he backtracked, saying instead that he “assumed” it must have been.
Both Sir Chris and Sir Patrick have said they were blindsided by the hospitality scheme.
Mr Johnson was one of 83 people to receive 126 fines for Downing Street parties which breached the UK’s pandemic restrictions.
He was given a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police for attending his own birthday party in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020.
Boris Johnson was questioned on the partygate revelations during a second day of questioning at the Covid inquiry module two hearings (Cabinet Office/PA)
(PA Media)
And despite his attempts to downplay Partygate before the Covid inquiry, the official Partygate report laid bare a shocking culture in Mr Johnson’s Downing Street.
It exposed booze-fuelled partying into the early hours, the wine time Friday tradition, an altercation between staff and a karaoke machine at the ready.
The 37-page report delves into 12 events, starting with a gathering in the Number 10 garden on May 15 2020 when Boris Johnson brought wine and cheese from his own flat, and ending with two get-togethers behind the famous black door on April 16 2021, which was the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Anger over the scandal was such that it played a significant role in Mr Johnson’s fall from grace and eventual resignation.
In further evidence Mr Johnson failed to take the scale of the scandal seriously, the Covid inquiry was shown evidence he called the fury when it came to light “insane”, telling advisers “let’s smash on”.
In a December 2021 WhatsApp, as the scandal was growing, Mr Johnson told cabinet secretary Simon Case that he was “really sorry” for the “grief” it was causing him. “This whole business is insane… we will get through it and come out on top,” he said.
Mr Case replied to the PM: “Thanks PM, it is a bit grim, but hopefully it will pass.”
And, in a message which suggests he was aware of repeated gatherings in the Downing Street press office, the former prime minister wrote back: “In retrospect we all should have told people – above all [comms chief] Lee Cain – to think about their behaviour in No10 and how it would look.
“But now we must smash on.”
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