The UK's former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been invited to give evidence next week regarding whether he misled Parliament over alleged COVID-19 lockdown parties, a scandal dubbed
"Partygate". Johnson will be questioned by the privileges committee in a televised session on 22nd March at 2pm.
The cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman, published an interim report last month stating that there was significant evidence Johnson misled MPs over lockdown parties. The report also claimed that he and his aides likely knew they were breaking COVID-19 restrictions at the time. The report included witness testimony from a gathering at No 10 in November 2020, where Johnson allegedly remarked, “this is probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now”.
The committee has uncovered new evidence, including a message from a No 10 official in April 2021, six months before the first reports of parties emerged, expressing concern over leaks of the Prime Minister having a "piss-up". The session with Johnson will be held publicly, and all committee members, including four Conservative MPs, two Labour MPs, and one SNP member, will be present to question him.
Johnson has also been offered the opportunity to provide written evidence to the inquiry ahead of the oral evidence session, with any response being published by the committee. The interim report published last month was intended to give Johnson notice of the lines of inquiry to be pursued during his testimony later this month.
If the committee finds that Johnson deliberately misled Parliament, he could be suspended, with an exclusion of 14 days or longer allowing Johnson's constituents to seek a recall petition to remove him as their MP. This is a possibility given the slim majority in his west London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Johnson resigned as Prime Minister last summer after facing repeated controversies, and he responded to the committee's interim report with a fightback, attempting to discredit the committee's findings. However, the scrutiny of his actions over the alleged lockdown parties is set to continue with his televised testimony next week. Photo by UK Government, Wikimedia commons.