Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson admits false information in “Partygate” affair

British ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted false information about the “Partygate” affair in parliament, but strictly rejected an intention.

The responsible committee could not provide evidence that he knowingly misled Parliament, Johnson said in a written defense released Tuesday.

If an MP is found to have lied to the House of Commons, he risks suspension, which in turn could result in the loss of his mandate. Johnson, who resigned last summer following a series of scandals under pressure from his party, will testify on Wednesday before a parliamentary committee investigating his conduct in the affair.

Johnson said he accepts that some of his statements “misled the House of Commons” and apologises. However, at no point did he want to hide anything, instead stating what he believed to be the truth at the time. He had no way of knowing what the subsequent inquiry into the Downing Street lockdown parties would reveal, the former prime minister said.

A preliminary report from the committee previously weighed heavily on Johnson. The evidence showed that it must have been “abundantly obvious” to the former prime minister that the illegal lockdown celebrations in Downing Street were in breach of corona rules, it was said at the time.

Johnson had repeatedly denied that any rules had been broken in Downing Street. He was fined for attending a lockdown event. (aeg/sda/dpa)