Boris Johnson embarked on an extraordinary rewriting of history over Partygate as he gave evidence to the Covid inquiry, insisting the public’s perception of parties breaking lockdown in Number 10 was “a million miles” away from the truth.
In comments likely to infuriate bereaved families during the Covid outbreak, the former prime minister said representations of repeated meetings during the pandemic were “absolutely ridiculous”.
Pressed about the saga that led to his eventual downfall as Prime Minister, Mr Johnson said the way Partygate was presented was “an imitation of the truth”.
Mr Johnson said: “I apologize for the offense I have caused and if I had my time again I would of course do things differently.” But he added: “The description and representation there of what officers and advisers were doing at No 10 was a ludicrous version of the truth.
“They thought they were working very hard, which they were, and I thought, as I said before, that what we were doing was absolutely within the rules.”
He added that the “version of events” that entered popular consciousness “about what must have happened at Downing Street” was “a million miles away from the reality of what actually happened at No10”.
Baroness Hallet, chair of the inquiry, took a swipe at Mr Johnson’s defense of the Partygate scandal, saying it had “exacerbated” the suffering of bereaved families during the pandemic.
“One of the problems is that as I travel around the UK I get a lot of messages from bereaved people, many of whom are suffering terribly during lockdown,” he said.
On the second marathon day before the Covid investigation:
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Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett was forced to warn crooks in the inquiry chamber not to protest during Mr Johnson’s evidence
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The inquiry heard the former Prime Minister described his own Covid rules as “stupid” and referred to the government’s own face mask policy as “fuck”
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He backtracked on his own witness statement after being questioned about the Eat Out to Help Out plan being discussed with senior advisers
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The former Prime Minister writhed for three minutes when he was shown each time he used the term “let it rip” in reference to Covid
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Mr Johnson admitted Dominic Cummings’ infamous trip to Barnard Castle was a “bad day” and “clearly damaging” to confidence in the government’s Covid policies
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The inquiry also heard that he had privately criticized test and trace and told advisers a month into the lockdown that the scheme was “whistling in the dark”.
Summarizing Mr Johnson’s evidence, the UK campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said the hearings showed he “couldn’t get the big calls right”.
The former prime minister’s “failure to take the pandemic seriously in early 2020 left us brutally unprepared and failed to learn from its mistakes, meaning the death toll of the second wave was higher than the first wave,” he added.
Spokesperson Becky Kummer said: “Even when he knew the precautions needed to be taken to protect lives, he delayed out of fear of how it would affect his reputation with certain segments of the press.”
The Liberal Democrats also described the former Prime Minister’s attempt to rewrite history in Partygate as “desperate”. Deputy leader Daisy Cooper told Independent: “These parties were investigated by the police and Boris Johnson accepted a fine for breaking lockdown rules. It’s surprising that he continues to try to deceive the country.
“Boris Johnson cannot expect his apology to be taken seriously as he continues his desperate attempt to rewrite history.”
It comes after Mr Johnson, who stood down as an MP before being forced out for lying to parliament, backtracked on his own witness statement to the inquiry.
Mr Johnson was questioned by inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC over allegations he knew the controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme was discussed with leading scientists Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty before it was launched.
When questioned, he backtracked – after claiming so in a written statement he submitted to the inquest – and instead said he “assumed” it must have been so. Both Sir Chris and Sir Patrick said they were caught off guard by the hosting plan.
Mr Johnson was one of 83 people handed 126 fines for Downing Street parties that 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 19 June 2020.
And despite his efforts to downplay Partygate ahead of the Covid inquiry, the official Partygate report has revealed the shocking culture in Mr Johnson’s Downing Street.
It revealed booze-filled parties until the early hours, the Friday wine time tradition, and arguments between staff and the karaoke machine at the ready.
The 37-page report details 12 events, starting with a meeting in Number 10 garden on May 15, 2020, where Boris Johnson brought wine and cheese from his own flat, and ending with the two meeting behind the famous black door on April 16. 2021 was the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Anger over the scandal was so great that it played a major role in Mr Johnson’s fall from grace and eventual resignation.
In further evidence that Mr Johnson was not taking the scale of the scandal seriously, the Covid inquiry was proven to have described the outrage as “crazy” and told advisers “let’s get on with it” when the issue was raised.
As the scandal grew on WhatsApp in December 2021, Mr Johnson told cabinet secretary Simon Case that he was “genuinely sorry” for the “grief” it had caused him. “This whole thing is crazy… We’re going to get through this and come out on top,” he said.
Mr Case replied to the Prime Minister: “Thanks to the Prime Minister, it’s a bit gloomy but hopefully it will pass.”
And the former prime minister, in a message in the Downing Street press office saying he was aware of repeated meetings, said: “Looking back, we all should have told people that – first of all. [comms chief] Lee Cain – Thinking about his behavior at number 10 and how he would appear.
“But now we must move on.”