Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to present written evidence to show that he did not lie to Parliament about “partygate”, the parties in Downing Street during the pandemic, when he appears before a parliamentary committee this Wednesday, reveals the Sunday The Observer .
Johnson, who was forced to leave power on September 6 as a result of this scandal, will present a statement to the House of Commons Privileges Committee on the 22nd, which must establish whether the conservative politician deceived and lied to the Parliament when he denied that he violated the rules on social distance established during the covid-19 pandemic in Downing Street.
Facing this oral statement, which will take place from 2:00 p.m. GMT, the aforementioned Sunday newspaper affirms today that the politician’s legal team will disclose evidence, including witness statements.
The presence of the conservative Johnson in the committee has created a lot of expectation since his political future will be in the hands of the conclusions made by the deputies that make up the committee.
In the event that the deputies establish that he lied, the former prime minister – a Conservative deputy for the Uxbridge constituency (northwest London) – could be suspended from the Lower House.
Cabinet Secretary of State Oliver Dowden said today that Johnson will make a “strong defense” of his actions but that his fate will ultimately be in the hands of MPs.
“I’m sure Boris Johnson will make a strong defense of himself and then it will be up to the committee to determine the outcome,” Dowden told SkyNews.
In an interim report, the Committee on Privileges recently said current evidence suggests breaches of anti-Covid rules at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence, should have been “obvious” to Johnson.
The members of the committee evaluate four occasions in which the former leader could have deliberately misled the deputies with his statements in the Commons about the “partygate”.
The committee inquiry is chaired by Labor MP Harriet Harman, though the seven-member panel has a Conservative majority.
The committee hopes to release its findings on whether Johnson lied to Parliament in due course and will make a recommendation on any action that should be taken against him.
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