Boris Johnson – live: Brexit and Partygate humiliations mark ‘death throes of ex-PM’s cult’

Boris Johnson’s double parliamentary humiliation this week marked the “death throes” of the former prime minister’s “cult”, Tory MPs say.

The ex-prime minister’s political star is seen to be waning after his appearance before MPs investigating whether he intentionally misled the House of Commons over his understanding of parties in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns.

And Mr Johnson suffered a separate political embarassment yesterday as his attempted Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal failed to garner significant support.

One senior Tory MP told The Independent that the Partygate inquiry and the Brexit vote were the “death throes of Boris cult”, saying the “dying rump” of around 20 to 30 loyalists left would not be able to rebuild support for him in the parliamentary party.

Separately, Lord Hayward, a Conservative pollster, told The Independent there was “no question the party would face defeat to Labour” if the Tories’ former leader was forced to fight for his Uxbridge constituency in the event that he were suspended.

After yesterday’s three-hour grilling of Mr Johnson, the seven-member privileges committee is now considering whether he deserves punishment.

Key Points

• ‘Cult’ of Boris Johnson ‘in death throes’ as Tory support fades

• Boris Johnson’s seat at risk, says Tory pollster

• Senior Tory says ex-PM ‘finished’

• ‘Partygate circus' shows no respect for ‘national sacrifice’ – Starmer

• ‘Heineken' politician’s career in peril

‘Cult’ of Boris Johnson ‘in death throes’ as Tory support fades

17:26 , Emily Atkinson

This week’s double parliamentary humiliation marked the “death throes” of the Boris Johnson “cult” with only a rump of loyalists now supporting him, Tory MPs have said.

The former prime minister was forced to plead “hand on heart” that he had not lied to MPs over the Partygate scandal.

He also failed to lead a successful Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit agreement, which passed the Commons by a huge majority of 486.

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political correspondent Adam Forrest have more:

‘Cult’ of Boris Johnson ‘in death throes’ as Tory support fades

Carol Vorderman in row with women’s minister

16:55 , Emily Atkinson

Carol Vorderman has called on the women’s minister to resign after she could not “be bothered to turn up” to a committee hearing about the menopause - but the politician has accused the TV presenter of not dealing in facts.

Maria Caulfield took to Twitter a day after the Women and Equalities Committee session to say she had been unable to attend as she was with campaigners at a meeting “which had been in the diary for months”.

The MP, who is also minister for women’s health strategy, tweeted that she was “not a punch bag” and said anyone who posted “misleading information” about her would be blocked on the social media platform.

Former Countdown star Vorderman posted a screenshot on Twitter indicating she had been blocked by the Government minister, and wrote: “Maria, show some respect & RESIGN.”

When challenged by another Twitter user about blocking Vorderman, Ms Caulfield replied: “She hasn’t pointed out facts. I couldn’t attend yesterday as I was seeing women campaigners against painful hysteroscopy which had been in the diary for months. I have given alternative dates to the committee and they are the facts.”

The committee said it had invited Ms Caulfield to appear before members to discuss the Government’s plans for action on menopause in the workplace “but the Minister refused the invitation”.

Committee chairwoman Caroline Nokes confirmed at the end of Wednesday’s session that Ms Caulfield is expected to appear for a hearing in June.

Starmer shares tax return

16:34 , Emily Atkinson

Sir Keir Starmer’s tax statement shows he made capital gains of £85,466 in the financial year 2021/22, on which he paid £23,930 in capital gains tax.

It said the sum reflected his share of the capital gains when his sister decided to sell a house he had helped her buy.

That was on top of his £126,154 income for being an MP and Leader of the Opposition.

RIP Brexit – the great dividing force has finally lost all its power | Voices

16:20 , Liam James

Sean O’Grady’s take on the day Brexit finally ‘got done’:

Whatever the fate now of Boris Johnson – which can no longer include a return to power – there is hope in the spring air.

Hope, that, after some seven years of Brexit agonies, our long national nightmare may be drawing to a close. Like Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and so many other of the dramatis personae, Brexit is slowly but perceptibly fading into the distance, morphing from live national debate into a topic for lively historical debate, rather like the Iraq War, Suez or appeasement before it.

Increasingly, and thankfully, it seems to be losing its power to divide families and friends, and to poison our political system. There’s no denying that the malign economic, cultural and geopolitical consequences of Brexit will reverberate for years (if not decades) to come, and no doubt we’re worse off out; but there is some sense that the British have at last become exhausted by civil war.

RIP Brexit – the great dividing force has finally lost all its power | Sean O’Grady

Rees-Mogg ‘too full of bantz’, says Penny Mordaunt

15:53 , Liam James

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt has suggested that critics of the Privileges Committee “might have been too full of bantz”.

Arch loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was in the room supporting Boris Johnson during Wednesday’s evidence session, said his friend was “doing very well against the marsupials”, a reference to the charge the former prime minister was facing a “kangaroo court”.

Ms Mordaunt told MPs during Commons Business questions: “I would gently point out to those colleagues who have mentioned, for example, marsupials that they might have been too full of bantz when they made those remarks.

“The committee needs to get on with its work.”

Mr Johnson, like his allies, has sought to discredit the committee, yesterday accusing members of prejudice.

Boris Johnson would lose constituency in by-election, says Tory pollster

14:52 , Liam James

A Tory polling guru said the former prime minister would lose his Uxbridge and Ruislip seat if he is punished severely by the cross-party committee and forced to face a by-election in the months ahead.

Lord Hayward told The Independent: “Although the position for the Conservatives is improving, under current circumstances the Tories would lose a by-election in Uxbridge. There’s no question the party would face defeat to Labour.”

The Tory polling expert said it was “difficult to judge” whether Mr Johnson’s own appeal could defy the grim national polling for the Tories. “If the Lib Dems choose to compete hard against Labour, it might just make it possible it could be saved,” he said.

Boris Johnson would lose Uxbridge by-election, says Tory pollster

Fund food banks with plastic bag charge, says Labour MP

14:28 , Liam James

Money raised from plastic bag charges in supermarkets should be used to fund food banks, ministers have been told.

Labour MP Barry Sheerman made the suggestion after warning “the food bank network is crumbling”.

He was speaking in the Commons during an urgent question on food price inflation, and urged environment minister Mark Spencer to address demand on food banks.

The single-use plastic carrier bag charge in England was introduced in supermarkets in 2015 and increased from 5p to 10p in 2021.

Nicola Sturgeon in emotional goodbye

14:00 , Liam James

Nicola Sturgeon held back tears as she delivered a final thank you to the people of Scotland in her final First Minister’s Questions.

She said: “Whether you voted for me or not ... thank you so much for placing your trust in me.

“Words will never adequately convey the gratitude and the awe I hold in my heart for the opportunity I have had to serve as your First Minister. It truly has been the privilege of my lifetime.”

Ms Sturgeon last month announced her intention to resign, citing exhaustion.

Boris Johnson is ‘finished’, says senior Tory after Partygate hearing

13:39 , Liam James

Boris Johnson’s attempt at a political comeback is “finished”, according to senior Tory figure after his torrid grilling by MPs at the televised Partygate inquiry hearing (Adam Forrest writes).

The former prime minister is struggling to revive his political career after the cross-party committee investigating his Partygate denials denounced the “flimsy” assurances they were based on.

Ex-cabinet minister Caroline Nokes said Mr Johnson’s unlikely comeback hopes were “finished”, as the committee suggested he had failed to correctly interpret his own Covid guidance or seek proper advice.

Boris Johnson is ‘finished’, says senior Tory after Partygate hearing

Boris Johnson 'acted outside of good faith’ with Sinn Fein

13:20 , Liam James

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said that Boris Johnson‘s government was not “upfront” with unionism, and was determined to act “in a unilateral fashion”.

Ms McDonald, leader of Ireland’s opposition, also said she had found Mr Johnson‘s tenure as prime minister difficult and frustrating, adding that there was a tendency to act “outside of good faith”.

She was speaking as the former Tory leader voted against a key element of the latest EU-UK deal on the protocol.

The Windsor Framework unveiled by Rishi Sunak last month was hailed as a significant breakthrough in outstanding problems with post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland.

On Wednesday, Mr Johnson staged a failed rebellion against the deal. Members of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party were among the 29 MPs to vote against the Stormont brake aspect of the deal, with 515 voting in favour of it.

Rishi Sunak’s £4.7m earnings ‘positive’, says Tory chair as tax campaigners call for change

13:00 , Liam James

Rishi Sunak’s huge earnings are “a positive” because wealthy people pay a lot of tax, Conservative chairman Greg Hands has said (Adam Forrest writes).

Mr Hands described Mr Sunak’s earnings and tax bill as a “positive”, saying “we want to have, in this country, wealthy people paying a lot of tax”.

He told ITV’s Peston: “I think we should be proud of the fact that people are paying tax in this country and proud of the fact they’re financing our excellent public services.”

Rishi Sunak’s £4.7m earnings ‘positive’, says Tory chair amid calls for change

Boris Johnson shows no respect for ‘national sacrifice’ – Starmer

12:32 , Liam James

Labour’s leader said the “circus of the last few days” around Boris Johnson’s Privileges Committee hearing was a reminder of the former prime minister’s “total disrespect for a national sacrifice”.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “That’s why I found the pandemic parties in Downing Street under Boris Johnson so reprehensible.

“The circus of the last few days – a reminder of his total disrespect for a national sacrifice.

“That’s why I said I’d resign, if I’d broken those same rules. I just couldn’t have looked the British people in the eye and asked for their trust.”

Rishi Sunak ‘glad’ to have published his tax returns

12:10 , Liam James

The prime minister said he was “glad” to have published his tax returns “in the interests of transparency”.

Sunak ‘married well’, says Tory pollster

12:00 , Liam James

Asked if Rishi Sunak’s tax return, showing the PM made more than £4.7m in three years, Tory peer and pollster Lord Hayward told Sky News: “Everybody knows he is a rich man.”

He added: “He married well. He has got a big income but he has disclosed it. People have to judge it on that basis. But it doesn’t come as a surprise that he is a rich man.”

Boris shedding support in Tory ranks?

11:30 , Liam James

Boris Johnson’s disastrous Wednesday will have more than halved his number of supporters in the Tory party, a former minister estimate.

Speaking to The Guardian, the unnamed Conservative said: “Before today, I thought there was a rump of 60-70 supporters in the party who could resurrect Boris. Now I’d put that number at about 25.”

Sturgeon faces final First Minister’s Questions

11:00 , Liam James

Turning away from Boris Johnson for a moment to mark the closing days of Nicola Sturgeon’s time as First Minister of Scotland:

Nicola Sturgeon today faces her final First Minister’s Questions after more than eight years as head of the Scottish Government.

The SNP leader announced last month she was stepping down from her role, saying she no longer has the stamina to carry on.

In Holyrood this afternoon, the 52-year-old will face off for the last time against Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Afterwards she will give her final statement to Parliament as Scotland’s First Minister and on Friday will carry out her last official engagement.

Boris ‘perfectly reasonable’ to think leaving drinks met Covid guidance

10:30 , Liam James

Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was “perfectly reasonable” for Boris Johnson to think No 10 leaving dos were in the remit of Covid regulations.

Speaking to TalkTV about Mr Johnson’s appearance before the Privileges Committee, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The rule on what you could do in a workplace were essentially a ‘best efforts’ rule in terms of social distancing. If you had to be in an office, you had to be in an office and you had to do your best to maintain social distancing.

“But you were allowed to carry on with the ordinary business of an office, and therefore it was perfectly reasonable of the prime minister to think that the farewell events that were held were the ordinary business of the office.”

He added: “ It is quite clear from yesterday that the prime minister spoke in good faith.

More from Mr Rees-Mogg below:

New poll finds vast majority of Britons think Boris Johnson is dishonest

10:00 , Liam James

The vast majority of Britons think Boris Johnson is dishonest, a new poll has found after the former prime minister insisted he did not lie to MPs over Partygate during a heated inquiry hearing.

The YouGov poll found that 72 per cent of Britons think Mr Johnson is dishonest, while 51 per cent of Conservative voters and 59 per cent of pro-Brexit voters polled believe the same.

It comes after the former prime minister faced a tense showdown at the Commons Privileges Committee on Wednesday over whether he lied to MPs with his denials of lockdown-busting parties held in Downing Street.

New poll finds vast majority of Britons think Boris Johnson is dishonest

Rishi Sunak asked about Boris Johnson’s Partygate committee reference

09:38 , Liam James

Boris Johnson yesterday tried to drag Rishi Sunak into the Privileges Committee investigation over Partygate.

Mr Johnson said his former chancellor did not understand why he got a fixed penalty notice for attending a lockdown-breaching event.

Asked about the remark, Mr Sunak said: “Well I can’t obviously comment on an ongoing parliamentary process, I’ll let that play out, and with regard to myself, I addressed that at the time, apologised unreservedly for what happened.”

Boris by-election spells ‘serious problems’ for Tories, says pollster

09:15 , Liam James

A by-election in Boris Johnson’s seat could “cause serious problems” for the Conservative Party, according to a Tory pollster.

Should the Privileges Committee find the former prime minister to have been in contempt of Parliament after offering assurances that Covid rules were followed during partygate, it could call for a suspension and MPs could trigger a by-election if the suspension is for 10 days or more.

Tory peer Lord Hayward, asked on Sky News what a potential by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip could mean for the Conservatives, said: “It would cause serious problems.

“The party doesn’t want a by-election. My guess is that if there were a by-election, certainly on current polls we would lose the constituency and therefore it’s something that is there but we can’t prejudge what the committee will decide.”

Asked about Mr Johnson’s popularity with Tory members, Lord Hayward replied: “I think his support is diminishing and his impact on the party is diminishing the longer that Rishi Sunak is Prime Minister.”

Boris ‘won in court of public opinion’, claims Rees-Mogg

08:53 , Liam James

Arch-loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed Boris Johnson had “won” public support with his defences – despite them being met with exasperation by multiple members of the cross-party panel of MPs grilling him.

The Tory MP told Channel 4 News: “Boris Johnson today has won in the court of public opinion.”

He added: “I think that if Boris Johnson went to a by-election he would win it comfortably. Because I think he’s winning in the court of public opinion, who see this as a kangaroo court.”

Boris performance was ‘bit of a mess’, says former comms chief

08:34 , Liam James

Offering his verdict on Thursday’s hearing, Will Walden, Mr Johnson’s former communication chief, told LBC: “He’ll be wanting to tell himself it’s all alright – but I don’t think it is, really.

“It was a bit of mess. He managed to last to the end of the first proper question before he got angry. At times he was churlish, frustrated, disbelieving, stroppy, shameless.”

Mr Walden added: “A man with an elastic relationship with the truth, swearing on a bible to tell the truth about whether in the past he told the truth or not – I mean you literally couldn’t make it up!”

Boris Johnson claimed No 10 drinks party was for official who didn’t leave until month later

08:15 , Liam James

Boris Johnson has been urged to correct his Partygate inquiry testimony after he was found to have claimed a No 10 party marked the exit of the top civil servant who did not resign until a month later.

The former Tory prime minister claimed the notorious “bring your own booze” garden party on 20 May 2020 had been aimed at motivating staff because cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill had quit.

But Mr Sedwill did not resign until 29 June 2020 – more than a month later – revealing he would step down from his top Downing Street role in September.

Adam Forrest looks at the former prime minister’s evidence:

Boris Johnson claimed No 10 party was for official who didn’t leave until month later

Senior Tory says Boris Johnson ‘finished'

07:49 , Liam James

Senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes said Boris Johnson’s comeback hopes were “finished” after the Partygate inquiry committee suggested he had failed to correctly interpret his own Covid guidance or seek proper assurances.

Asked if Mr Johnson is finished if he is punished by the committee, Ms Nokes told ITV’s Peston: “I think that Boris Johnson is finished anyway. I think there was a very clear message from his own ministers back in the summer that they didn’t want him to carry on.”

“He didn’t choose to stand against Rishi Sunak back in the autumn when we had the second leadership challenge. As far as I’m concerned, Boris Johnson is not coming back as prime minister.”

Gallagher says Boris Johnson got his ‘ass handed to him’

07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Liam Gallagher was among those chastising Boris Johnson as the former prime minister addressed the Privileges Committee over the Partygate scandal yesterday.

“Boris Johnson getting his fat ass handed to him on a plate who’s says the nowt on TV these days marvellous [sic],” the former Oasis frontman tweeted during the broadcasted hearing.

Gallagher has made a number of political statements in the past, last year dedicating his NME award for Music Moment of the Year to NHS workers and “all the people that give a s*** in general”.

Tom Murray reports.

Liam Gallagher says Boris Johnson got his ‘ass handed to him’ during Partygate probe

ICYMI | Boris Johnson was warned against claiming all Covid guidance followed new Partygate evidence reveals

07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Britain’s most senior civil servant has said he did not give Boris Johnson any assurances that Covid rules were followed at all times in No 10 during lockdown.

Cabinet secretary Simon Case said he offered no assurances in written evidence given to the cross-party privileges committee due to grill Mr Johnson later on whether he misled MPs over the Partygate scandal.

It has also emerged that Mr Johnson was warned by his principle private secretary Martyn Reynolds against claiming that all Covid guidance had been followed – but went ahead and made a denial in the Commons.

Matt Mathers and Adam Forrest have more:

Boris Johnson was warned against claiming all Covid guidance followed

Boris Johnson shouts ‘complete nonsense’ during grilling

06:50 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Boris Johnson lost his cool and shouted “complete nonsense” during his three-hour grilling by the Privileges Committee yesterday.

He was livid after Tory veteran Sir Bernard Jenkin suggested that the former prime minister did not seek “proper” advice before telling MPs that no parties took place in Downing Street during Covid lockdown.

“This is complete nonsense, I mean, complete nonsense,” he said. “I asked the relevant people. They were senior people. They had been working very hard. Jack Doyle gave me a clear account of what had happened.”

Mary Lou McDonald says Boris government was ‘not upfront’ with unionism

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Mary Lou McDonald has said that Boris Johnson’s government had not been “upfront” with unionism, and had been determined to act “in a unilateral fashion”.

The Sinn Fein president added that she had found Mr Johnson’s tenure as British prime minister difficult and frustrating, saying that there was a tendency to act “outside of good faith”.

Ms McDonald was speaking in a pre-recorded interview for ITV show Peston as the former Tory leader voted against a key element of the latest EU-UK deal on the protocol.

Read more here.

Mary Lou McDonald says Boris Johnson government was ‘not upfront’ with unionism

What were the Covid rules and guidance when Boris Johnson attended parties?

06:00 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson has endured a tense showdown with MPs who are investigating whether he intentionally misled Parliament over parties held at Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.

Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, this week admitted that he did mislead MPs, but has denied doing so “intentionally or recklessly”, saying he relied on advice from aides during the events at No 10 that took place between May 2020 and April 2021.

As Covid-19 swept the UK, the government laid out rules for everyone to follow, which were passed into law, in an attempt to curb its spread and reduce pressures on the NHS. But it also published guidance, including for employers, on working arrangements to reduce the risk of employees spreading the virus.

My colleague Jane Dalton has the details here:

What were the Covid rules and guidance when Boris Johnson attended parties?

Boris Johnson suffers double Commons humiliation

05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Boris Johnson was dealt two humiliating blows in parliament yesterday as he was forced to plead “hand on heart” that he had not lied to MPs over Partygate while he also failed to lead a Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak.

During an occasionally bad-tempered three-hour grilling, the former prime minister defended the decision to hold parties inside No 10 during the pandemic – including one attended by his wife and his interior designer – saying they had been “necessary” for work purposes.

It also emerged that Mr Johnson had been explicitly warned against claiming that all Covid guidance had been followed – but did so anyway.

Meanwhile, his efforts to undermine Mr Sunak’s post-Brexit agreement with the EU ended in abject failure as a vote on the Windsor Framework passed the Commons by a mammoth majority of 486.

Kate Devlin and Adam Forrest report.

Blustering Boris Johnson suffers double Commons humiliation over Partygate and Brexit

Who is Sir Bernard Jenkin and who else is on the Privileges Committee?

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

Who is Sir Bernard Jenkin and who else is on the Privileges Committee?

Boris Johnson’s political career in peril

04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Boris Johnson is fighting for his political future after MPs investigating his partygate denials denounced the “flimsy” assurances they were based on.

In at times short-tempered testimony lasting more than three hours, the former prime minister insisted there was not a “shred of evidence” to show he lied to MPs.

It would have been “utterly insane” for him to have misled parliament, he told the Privileges Committee that could recommend his suspension from the Commons.

If a proposal for a 10-day suspension is voted through by MPs, a by-election in Mr Johnson’s seat could be triggered, potentially spelling the end of his parliamentary career.

Read more here.

Johnson’s political career in peril after combative partygate inquiry hearing

Liam Gallagher says Boris Johnson got his ‘ass handed to him’ during Partygate probe

04:00 , Emily Atkinson

Liam Gallagher was among those chastising Boris Johnson as the former prime minister addressed the privileges committee over the Partygate scandal on Wednesday.

Over more than three hours, Mr Johnson was grilled about whether he knew parties were being held in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Boris Johnson getting his fat ass handed to him on a plate who’s says the nowt on TV these days marvellous [sic],” the former Oasis frontman tweeted during the broadcasted hearing.

More on this here:

Liam Gallagher says Boris Johnson got his ‘ass handed to him’ during Partygate probe

Watch: Johnson shown supercut of times he told parliament he followed the rules

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Blustering Boris Johnson suffers double Commons humiliation over Partygate and Brexit

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson’s hopes of a political comeback appeared dashed on Wednesday after he was accused of “flimsy” excuses on Partygate at the same time as he failed to lead a Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak.

During an occasionally bad-tempered televised hearing into the scandal, the former prime minister defended parties inside No 10 during the pandemic – including one attended by his wife and interior designer – as “necessary” for work purposes.

It also emerged Mr Johnson had been explicitly warned against claiming all Covid guidance had been followed – but did so anyway.

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political correspondent Adam Forrest report:

Blustering Boris Johnson suffers double Commons humiliation over Partygate and Brexit

Boris Johnson: People who say garden party event was purely social are ‘quite wrong’ – watch

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

During Boris Johnson’s Partygate hearing, Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue asked the ex-PM about his former aide Lee Cain’s claim that a party in the Downing Street garden was a “purely social event”.

Mr Johnson said it was “not a large social gathering”. He added: “People who say we were partying at No 10 simply do not know what they are talking about.”

Watch their exchange here:

Mick Hucknall brands Boris Johnson ‘despicable’ amid Partygate committee hearing

00:00 , Emily Atkinson

Mick Hucknall has vehemently condemned former prime minister Boris Johnson for denying that he lied about partying during the Covid lockdown.

Johnson is currently facing inquiries into whether or not he misled the House of Commons in their Partygate investigation. During Wednesday’s committee hearing, Johnson said that claims he was “partying during lockdown” were false.

In the hearing, Johnson attempted to justify one particular gathering for departing aid Lee Cain, claiming they “had to happen”.

Inga Parkel reports:

Mick Hucknall brands Boris Johnson ‘despicable’ amid Partygate committee hearing

Rees-Mogg claims Johnson ‘has won in the court of public opinion'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 23:00 , Emily Atkinson

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Boris Johnson “has won in the court of public opinion” following his partygate inquiry grilling.

The arch-loyalist of the former prime minister told Channel 4 News: “I think that if Boris Johnson went to a by-election he would win it comfortably. Because I think he’s winning in the court of public opinion, who see this as a kangaroo court.”

He also said: “It was quite clear that he behaved properly, that he told the truth as he understood it at the time, as he had been advised. He told the truth as he perceived it.”

When it was put to him that Mr Johnson appeared rattled during the hearing, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “I thought actually he modelled himself on a cucumber and was pretty cool.”

Watch: Rishi Sunak releases long-awaited personal tax documents

Wednesday 22 March 2023 22:00 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson partygate probe: What comes next?

Wednesday 22 March 2023 21:00 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson’s political future is in the hands of the Privileges Committee as the panel of MPs decides whether he lied to Parliament over partygate.

During a grilling lasting more than three hours, the former prime minister was faced a host of questions about what he knew about parties held in Downing Street during lockdown and his explanations to MPs.

Here is what we found out from the session and what to expect next:

Johnson partygate probe: What comes next?

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson to earn £100,000 for presenting GB News show

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:30 , Emily Atkinson

Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson has revealed he will be paid £100,000 a year for hosting a show on GB News.

The annual fee, declared in an update to the MPs’ register of interests published on Wednesday, is a significant increase on the £200 weekly payment he received for appearing as a regular on Dan Wootton’s show.

The controversial MP for Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, became the fifth Tory MP to host a GB News show when his deal with the channel was announced on March 7.

More on this here:

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson to earn £100,000 for presenting GB News show

ICYMI | Boris admits he got no assurance on Covid guidance being followed

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:50 , Emily Atkinson

Asked by Tory MP Alberto Costa if he had no assurance that the 18 December 2020 Christmas party was compliant with Covid guidance, Boris Johnson said: “Yes. It’s correct to say that I did not … that I didn’t receive assurances about the 18 December event, the guidance.”

He added: “But until Martin Reynolds made his point to me on the morning of the 8 December [2021], nobody had said anything to me adverse about our following of the guidance.”

ICYMI | Harriet Harman responds to Boris Johnson’s accusations of prejudice

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:30 , Emily Atkinson

Key points from Boris Johnson’s Partygate probe grilling

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:10 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson swore “hand on heart, I did not lie to the House” as he fought to defend himself during questioning by MPs over whether he misled the Commons with his denials about Partygate – in a hearing that could determine his political fate.

The former prime minister, in a bullish opening statement, claimed that after 10 months of investigations, the privileges committee had found “nothing” to prove that he was aware any of the gatherings that took place were illegal or breached the rules.

He criticised the committee for not accepting his demands to publish all the evidence it had gathered. He said that the committee, as “investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury” had only published the evidence it had considered incriminating.

All the key points from today’s explosive hearing can be found here:

Key points from Boris Johnson’s Partygate probe grilling

Sunak accused of sneaking out tax returns during busy news day

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:50 , Emily Atkinson

Rishi Sunak was accused of sneaking out details of his tax affairs on a busy news day by the Liberal Democrats.

The party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “After months of promising to release his tax returns, I don’t understand why Rishi Sunak has snuck them out whilst the world is distracted with Boris Johnson’s partygate grilling.

“People will be much more concerned today about the staggering tax hikes Rishi Sunak has imposed on them.

“The blunt truth is that we should judge politicians on their actions, not their wealth. Rishi Sunak will be remembered as the tax-hiking Prime Minister and no Boris Johnson distraction will stop that.”

'Complete nonsense': Moment Boris Johnson loses his cool in combative Partygate hearing

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

Johnson loyalists out in full force on Twitter

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:17 , Emily Atkinson

Sean O’Grady: The Boris Johnson Show is all about distraction from his weak Partygate defence

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:15 , Emily Atkinson

It really wouldn’t be an episode of the ‘Boris Johnson Show’ if the star and central character kicked off with an expression of regret, contrition or even sympathy for all those who followed the rules, made sacrifices and endured hardships while Johnson himself presided over a culture of serial rule-breaking and contempt for the public who weren’t invited to “bring their own booze”.

Instead, at the outset, Johnson attacked the Privileges Committee for not publishing all the evidence and allowing “parliament and the public to make their own minds up”. He told the chair of the committee, Harriet Harman she was prejudiced. Immediately he tried therefore to undermine the committee, the better to continue his fight when the whole House – including ardent Boris fans such as Nadine Dorries and James Duddridge will try and organise a rearguard action to save him.

The Boris Johnson Show is all about distraction | Sean O’Grady

‘Utterly insane to lie to parliament'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:54 , Emily Atkinson

During his hearing in front of the privileges committee, Boris Johnson said it would have been “utterly insane” for him to have misled parliament and it would be unfair and wrong for MPs to conclude he had.

The former prime minister said: “I think if this committee were to find me in contempt of parliament - having come and done something so utterly insane and contrary to my beliefs and my principles as to come here, to come to parliament and wittingly lie - I think that would be not only unfair, I think it would be wrong.”

More key moments from Boris Johnson’s hearing

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:45 , Emily Atkinson

A few key moments now from the testy hearing of Boris Johnson.

First up is evidence from Jack Doyle, the ex-PM’s comms chief when the Partygate story broke.

The committee heard him express doubts about compliance with Covid rules in relation to a gathering on June 19 2020 that marked the then-prime minister’s birthday.

Tory MP Alberto Costa told the committee Mr Doyle was “himself doubtful” and referred to WhatsApp messages sent by him discussing the June event in which he said he was “struggling” to reason that the gathering was in the rules, and he was “not sure” it would “work” to suggest it was reasonably necessary for work purposes.

Mr Johnson responded: “I was not aware that he sent that WhatsApp, he didn’t send it to me. This is, I think, on January 25, which was long after we started the process which was to become the Sue Gray inquiry.”

He added that Mr Doyle was not at the event, was relying on “media descriptions” of it, and did not raise any concerns with him about it.

Questions conclude

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:21 , Emily Atkinson

Questions have now concluded.

Ms Harman now invites Mr Johnson to make “any final points” that he hasn’t already mentioned or have not come up in the committee’s questioning.

“Thank you, I have very much enjoyed our discussion,” Mr Johnson said, to a brief outburst of laughter.

“I genuinely think it has been a useful discussion and I hope it’s clear to the committee what was in my heart and in my mind.”

Mr Johnson left the Privileges Committee hearing flanked by supporters and his legal team after a lengthy session in front of MPs.

‘Kangaroo court'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:17 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson has softened criticism of the committee investigating whether he misled parliament.

Tory MP Alberto Costa told him “you wouldn’t characterise it as a witch hunt or a kangaroo court” - terms used by Mr Johnson’s allies.

Mr Johnson said he regrets the term kangaroo court.

“I deprecate the term - I don’t want to use it... I have every confidence that you will be fair,” he said.

It comes after devout Johnsonite Jacob Rees-Mogg said Labour MP Harriet Harman’s position as chairwoman of the privileges committee was “absurd” and added that describing the process as a kangaroo court was “being very rude to marsupials”.

Allies of Boris Johnson have criticised Ms Harman over an April 2022 tweet in which she suggested that by accepting a fine for breaking Covid rules he was also admitting misleading the House.

Rishi Sunak made £1.9m last year as PM releases long-awaited tax return

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:07 , Emily Atkinson

To turn attention away from the committee briefly, a story that would on any other day make front pages has just broken...

Rishi Sunak has published his long-awaited personal tax returns, showing that he paid more than £1m in UK tax over three years.

The returns show the prime minister raked in more than £1.9m last year, including £1.6m in capital gains and more than £300,000 in salary earnings and investment income.

His financial affairs have come under intense scrutiny ever since The Independent first revealed his wife Akshata Murty held special non-dom tax status.

More on this from our political correspondent Adam Forrest:

Rishi Sunak releases long-awaited tax return

Rattled ex-PM grilled over advice

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:04 , Emily Atkinson

Sir Bernard Jenkins is continuing to press Mr Johnson on the advice he sought on the nature of the gatherings held in No 10 during lockdown.

“I put it to you Mr Johnson that you did not take proper advice?” Mr Jenkins said.

Mr Johnson insisted he had contacted the “relevant people”.

The former prime minister then became visibly bad-tempered, as he accused Sir Bernard of spouting “utter nonsense”.

‘Flimsy assurances'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:58 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson is being grilled over why he relied on “flimsy” assurances from political advisers who dealt with the media, rather than the scrutiny of a permanent civil servant or a government lawyer.

“The simple answer is when I needed to discover whether the rules were broken I asked the senior adviser who was there and that was Jack Doyle,” Mr Johnson says, referring to the former communications chief

The ex-PM said Mr Doyle confirmed in a WhatsApp exchange that he was assured there was no party and no rules were broken.

He said he followed this up with a phone call with James Slack, another ex-comms director.

Johnson says he then rang James Slack – another former director of comms.

Chair Harriet Harman challenged Mr Johnson, saying: “Do you think we are entitled to be a bit dismayed about the flimsy nature of these assurances?”

Watch: People who say garden party event was purely social are ‘quite wrong’

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:52 , Emily Atkinson

‘Hindsight’s a wonderful thing'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:47 , Emily Atkinson

Committee member and Tory MP Andy Carter says he accepts that a busy prime minister may need to rely on advisers to navigate his day.

Mr Carter then questioned whether at any point Mr Johnson questioned the events occurring in No 10.

“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing,” Mr Johnson replied. “But no, at the time I thought we were working,” he says.

Invesigation ordered by PM ‘troubled’ by ‘conflicting information’ over Christmas Party

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:43 , Emily Atkinson

A civil service investigation into Partygate allegations was ordered because Boris Johnson said he was “troubled” about “conflicting information” he was receiving in relation to reports of a Downing Street Christmas Party in 2020.

The former prime minister told MPs on the Privileges Committee: “When the Allegra (Stratton) video emerged... I decided that I was getting conflicting information about what had happened at this gathering on 18 December. I was troubled by that.

“I hadn’t been at the thing, I was relying on what I thought were the honest and well-intentioned descriptions of this from my trusted advisers.

“But clearly there was a difference of opinion.

“So I commissioned the Cabinet Secretary to conduct an inquiry, that’s the most important thing that I did.”

Staff didn’t touch each other’s pens – but passed each other drinks, says Boris

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:37 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson, insisting that No 10 staff were at pains to follow social distancing guidelines, said: “We didn’t touch each other’s pens.”

Committee chair Harriet Harman: “But you were passing drinks to each other, we can see the drinks in the photos.”

Mr Johnson replied: “Yes, we were of course.”

‘No knowledge’ of wine and cheese event

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:36 , Emily Atkinson

Mr Johnson has denied attending or knowing about a cheese and wine event in the press room of the “vestibule” at 10 Downing Street on 18 December 2020.

SNP MP Allan Dorans told him the committee visited Downing Street and said the former prime minister would have had “direct sight” of the vestibule from his flat, before asking whether it was Mr Johnson’s evidence that he did not hear or see a gathering of at least 25 people.

“If I had looked out, what I would have seen, I’m sure, was people doing a huge amount of work on a very, very busy evening,” Mr Johnson said.

“I didn’t look, I certainly have no memory of seeing any kind of party or illicit gathering going on in the press room that evening. The first I knew about it was when it was brought to my attention... almost a year later.

“Nobody raised any anxiety about that event with me before I stood up in the House of Commons.”

Mr Johnson also denied knowledge of gatherings in Number 10 on December 17 2020 and April 16 2021.

Bereaved families attack ‘new low’ for Boris Johnson

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:33 , Emily Atkinson

Turning away from the Commons for a moment, the families of those who lost relatives and friends to Covid have weighed in on the prime minister’s bullish appearance in front of the privileges committee this afternoon:

A spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said Wednesday marked “a new low” for Boris Johnson amid the hearing investigating his denials surrounding Partygate.

Rivka Gottlieb said: “Today was a new low for Boris Johnson. It’s clear he lied when he said to our faces that he’d done ‘all he could’ to protect our loved ones, he lied again when he said the rules hadn’t been broken in Number 10, and he’s lying now when he denies that was the case.

“He claims it was ‘his job’ to say goodbye to colleagues, that he ‘would have needed an electric fence’ around him to stick to the rules, and that social distancing only applied ‘when possible’.

“Did any of this apply when we couldn’t be with our loved ones for weeks as they suffered alone in care homes and hospitals, or even be there to hold their hands in their dying moments?

“Bereaved families found it painful to watch him pull his usual tricks of deflection, self-pity and blaming everyone but himself. The fact that it appears he didn’t fully understand the rules he was setting and communicating to the nation is especially galling.

“He isn’t fit for public office and if had any respect he’d resign as an MP and quietly reflect on the pain and suffering he has inflicted on so many.”

Johnson grilled over ‘multiple bottles of alcohol'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:20 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson has dismissed as false evidence from an official who attended an event on 14 January 2021, who said the gathering was not strictly about work.

Mr Johnson insisted it was essential to thank staff for their service throughout the pandemic and that few occasions of that nature were held.

“It wasn’t just staff who were leaving who needed to be appreciated but staff who were there who needed to be motivated,” he told the committee.

Questions then turned to the multiple bottles of alcohol in the photograph and if it was necessary for a work event.

Mr Johnson explained: “It customary to say farewell to people in this country with a toast, I didn’t see any sign of drunkenness I had no idea why anyone would be fined for that event.”

Was No 10 the exception to lockdown rules?

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:03 , Liam James

Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue asked whether Boris Johnson thought No10 was the exception to rules unlike doctors, healthcare workers and hospitals who were also having an incredibly difficult time.

“Of course not,” he replied, “and that’s why we had all the stipulations ... about following the guidance.”

Boris Johnson ‘doesn’t remember’ joke about ‘most unsocially distanced’ event

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:01 , Liam James

Boris Johnson, asked about a joke he was alleged to have made on November 27 2020 that an event in Downing Street was the “most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”.

Mr Johnson told the Privileges Committee: “I don’t remember saying those words.

“I think it unlikely that I would have said those words given what I have had to say to the committee just now about my memory of the event.

“My visual memory of the event was that it was much more, as Cleo Watson describes, it was a clutch of people around that table ... I don’t remember people being four or five deep.”

The former prime minister said he thought it “unlikely” he, as claimed by an unnamed No 10 official, made a joke about a leaving-do being “probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now”.

Garden party was not a ‘social gathering,’ says Boris Johnson

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:57 , Liam James

Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue now asks Boris Johnson about his former aide Lee Cain’s claim that a party in the Downing Street garden was a “purely social event”.

Mr Johnson said it was “not a large social gathering”. He added: “People who say we were partying at No 10 simply do not know what they are talking about.”

‘No sense’ birthday party broke rules, says Johnson

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:52 , Liam James

On his birthday party in Downing Street on 19 June 2020, Boris Johnson said: “I had absolutely no sense while this event was taking place and indeed later on at any time was in contravention of the rules at any time ... I think the then-chancellor who also received an FPN would have been as surprised as I was.”

In his defence dossier submitted to the Privileges Committee, Mr Johnson said, at the party, “no cake was eaten, and no one even sang happy birthday. The primary topic of conversation was the response to Covid-19.”

Downing Street decorator only ‘popped her head round door’, says Boris Johnson

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:49 , Liam James

The interior designer who ended up at a Downing Street party in lockdown was a “contractor who was working in the building, who popped her head round the door”, Boris Johnson told the Privileges Committee.

Lulu Lyttle was behind the controversial renovation of the Downing Street flat, which The Independent revealed cost £200,000.

The designer was inexplicably present at a gathering in No 10 on 19 June 2020, when Mr Johnson’s birthday was celebrated.

Johnson characterises Lee Cain leaving party as ‘urgent’ meeting

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:46 , Liam James

Footage here of Boris Johnson’s claim that Lee Cain’s leaving drinks “had to happen”.

‘You’re repeating yourself,’ Sir Bernard Jenkin tells ex-PM

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:40 , Liam James

Sir Bernard Jenkin admonished Mr Johnson for his lengthy answers to the committee

The veteran Tory MP said: “You are giving very long answers… and repeating yourself quite a lot”

Sir Bernard Jenkin tells Boris Johnson investigation could have been avoided

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:35 , Liam James

Veteran Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin suggested Boris Johnson could have avoided the contempt proceedings if he had given a fuller account to Parliament.

The former prime minister said: “Why I believed, when I stood up on December 1, that the guidance was followed completely at all times in No 10, what picture I had in my head – and why that doesn’t conflict with that picture [of Lee Cain’s leaving drinks] – the answer is that I knew from my direct personal experience that we were doing a huge event to stop the spread of Covid within the building.

“We had sanitisers, windows were kept open, we had people working outdoors wherever they could, we had Zoom meetings, we had restrictions on the number of people in rooms, we had Perspex screens between desks and – above all – we had testing, regular testing, which went way beyond what the guidance described, and which, in my view, helped mitigate the difficulties we had in maintaining perfect social distancing.”

Sir Bernard said: “I’m bound to say that if you said all that at the time to the House of Commons, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here. But you didn’t.”

The MP also told Mr Johnson: “I don’t think we agree with your interpretation of the guidance”.

Boris Johnson: Who is Sir Bernard Jenkin and who else is on the Privileges Committee?

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:33 , Liam James

Sir Bernard Jenkin is another veteran MP. A Conservative, he has been in Parliament since 1992.

A veteran Tory Eurosceptic and chairman of the powerful Liaison Committee, he was a critic of Mr Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher affair and is an often vocal voice from the backbenches.

More on the panel here:

Watch live: Boris Johnson in Partygate committee hearing

Wednesday 22 March 2023 13:54 , Liam James

Independent TV is hosting the prime minister’s appearance before the Privileges Committee live on YouTube.

Tune in here: