Boris: Hand On Heart I Did Not Lie To House

The ex-PM told a House of Commons probe he took "full responsibility" for what took place in Partygate on his watch.

- Sam Lister

BULLISH Boris Johnson insisted "hand on heart" he did not lie to MPs as he faced his interrogators in a televised showdown.

He said Privileges Committee MPs had "found nothing" to prove he misled Parliament and claimed he acted in good faith.

Mr Johnson went on: “The purpose of this inquiry is not to reopen so-called Partygate.

“It is to discover whether or not I lied to Parliament, willingly misled colleagues and the country about what I knew and believed about those gatherings when I said the rules and the guidance had been followed at No10.

“I’m here to say to you hand on heart that I did not lie to the House. When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”

It was a barnstorming performance – but the former Premier was also clearly exasperated during the tetchy three-and-a-half-hour session in Parliament.

He insisted that several mid-pandemic gatherings in Downing Street were “essential” to the workings of Government and defended various rule-breaking events – including one to mark his birthday, for which he was fined by the Met Police – as being “necessary for work purposes”.

Mr Johnson also defended raising a toast surrounded by alcohol at a leaving do for his then-communications chief Lee Cain as “not only reasonably necessary but it was essential for work purposes”.