https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/149ya3n/boris_johnson_deliberately_misled_uk_parliament/
Boris Johnson deliberately misled UK Parliament over Covid lockdown
breaches, inquiry finds
Luke McGee
By Rob Picheta and Luke McGee, CNN
Updated 9:08 AM EDT, Thu June 15, 2023
The investigation's focus was on Johnson's conduct during the Covid-19
pandemic, when he was PM and found by police to have breached his own
rules.
The investigation's focus was on Johnson's conduct during the Covid-19
pandemic, when he was PM and found by police to have breached his own rules.
Leon Neal/WPA Pool/Getty Images
London
CNN
—
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled
lawmakers over breaches of his own Covid-19 lockdown rules, a
parliamentary committee has found, in a devastating and unprecedented
report that lambasts Johnson’s conduct and recommends he is refused a
pass to enter the parliamentary estate.
The committee’s report found that Johnson “committed a serious contempt”
of parliament when, after the so-called “Partygate” scandal which
revealed that illegal gatherings took place at Downing Street, Johnson
told parliament that rules were followed at all times.
The findings amount to a historic admonishment of a former prime
minister, who won a landslide electoral victory less than four years ago
but saw his political career collapse amid a series of scandals.
“The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the
Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government,” the
Privileges Committee wrote in its report, published Thursday. “There is
no precedent for a Prime Minister having been found to have deliberately
misled the House.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
delivers a farewell address before his official resignation at Downing
Street on September 6, 2022 in London, England. British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is stepping down following the election of Liz Truss, the
former foreign secretary, as Conservative Party leader. (Photo by Dan
Kitwood/Getty Images)
Boris Johnson is down -- but not necessarily out
“He misled the House on an issue of the greatest importance to the House
and to the public, and did so repeatedly,” the members wrote, adding
that Johnson also misled the committee when he presented evidence in his
defense.
Johnson resigned as an MP in fury on Friday, days before the report’s
publication, nullifying the committee’s recommendation that he be
suspended for long enough to force a by-election in his constituency.
But the report added a further, damning recommendation in light of his
resignation: that Johnson is denied a former member’s pass to enter
parliament, a longstanding convention for ex-MPs.
Johnson raising a glass during one of the Downing Street gatherings, in
a picture released during a seperate investigation into his conduct.
Johnson raising a glass during one of the Downing Street gatherings, in
a picture released during a seperate investigation into his conduct.
UK Cabinet Office
“We came to the view that some of Mr Johnson’s denials and explanations
were so disingenuous that they were by their very nature deliberate
attempts to mislead the Committee and the House, while others
demonstrated deliberation because of the frequency with which he closed
his mind to the truth,” the report found.
It marks the end of a lengthy investigation by the committee – the
majority of whom represent Johnson’s Conservative Party – that Johnson
and some of his allies attacked as a “kangaroo court.”
But it may not end the Partygate saga. MPs must now vote to accept the
report’s findings, a potentially embarrassing exercise certain to expose
divisions between Johnson’s supporters in parliament and the current
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Committee lambasts Johnson’s ‘vitriol’
The investigation’s focus was on Johnson’s conduct during the Covid-19
pandemic, when he was prime minister and found by police to have
breached his own rules limiting gatherings.
One contemporary Downing Street staffer, in a piece of written evidence
submitted to the committee, described the prime minister’s residence as
“an island oasis of normality” during lockdown.
“This was all part of a wider culture of not adhering to any rules,” the
staffer wrote. “Birthday parties, leaving parties and end of week
gatherings all continued as normal. Those responsible for the leadership
of No. 10 failed to keep it a safe space.”
Unlike a police investigation and a separate parliamentary probe into
the parties themselves, this inquest looked at whether Johnson knowingly
misled lawmakers in the House of Commons when he reassured them that he
was unaware of the parties.
Its findings were unanimous and unambiguous. “We think it highly
unlikely on the balance of probabilities that Mr Johnson … could have
genuinely believed at the time of his statements to the House that the
Rules or Guidance were being complied with,” the report said.
The committee dismissed Johnson's argument that he didn't know he was
breaking his lockdown rules during the events.
The committee dismissed Johnson's argument that he didn't know he was
breaking his lockdown rules during the events.
UK Cabinet Office
The report also rebukes Johnson for his attacks on the committee’s
impartiality, finding that he committed contempt of parliament on
several more occasions when giving evidence and when he resigned as MP.
“This attack on a committee carrying out its remit from the
democratically elected House itself amounts to an attack on our
democratic institutions,” the committee wrote in its report, calling
Johnson’s language “vitriolic” and “completely unacceptable.”
Had Johnson stayed on as a parliamentarian, the committee would have
recommended a 90-day suspension from the Commons – a ban nine times the
threshold that would force a sitting member of parliament to hold a
by-election to reclaim their seat.
Johnson, in his own response to the report, called its publication a
“dreadful day for democracy.”
“This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the committee or
its good. faith. The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted
the truth to suit my purposes,” he said.
‘A pound shop Trump’
Johnson’s reputation is steeped even deeper in disgrace following the
publication, despite his furious attempts to discredit the committee in
recent days.
He was condemned by Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the opposition
Labour Party, as “not only a law-breaker but a liar.”
“He’s not fit for public office and he’s disgraced himself and continues
to act like a pound-shop Trump in the way in which he tries to discredit
anybody who criticizes his actions,” Rayner told broadcasters on Thursday.
“A decent public servant would have done the honorable thing, would have
had a little bit of humility and would have apologized to the British
public for what they put them through.”
As well as being the first PM ever to be fined by police while in
office, Johnson’s entire premiership was dogged by scandal, ranging from
financial irregularities to members of his team being accused of sexual
misconduct.
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
delivers a farewell address before his official resignation at Downing
Street on September 6, 2022 in London, England. British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is stepping down following the election of Liz Truss, the
former foreign secretary, as Conservative Party leader. (Photo by Dan
Kitwood/Getty Images)
Analysis: Boris Johnson's name will go down in history, but for none of
the reasons he wants
His popularity plummeted toward the end of his time in office – both
among the British public and his own MPs. His attempt to come back after
his successor Liz Truss was forced to resign fell short after it became
apparent that a majority of Conservative MPs would block it.
Johnson has been in a war of words with Sunak, his former finance
minister and eventual successor, in recent days – and Sunak has now
sought to put distance between Johnson and himself.
Sunak’s spokesperson told reporters Thursday that the committee Johnson
has repeatedly attacked is “a properly constituted committee carrying
out work at the behest of Parliament.”
Over the weekend, Johnson and two of his allies said they would quit as
MPs immediately, forcing three difficult by-elections for a government
that is languishing in opinion polls.
The former PM’s departure from the House of Commons is not necessarily
good news for Sunak, whom Johnson criticized in his resignation statement.
Johnson and his allies still largely hold Sunak responsible for his
predecessor’s political downfall. Johnson has always been an influential
figure among Conservative voters, whether inside or outside of parliament.
The prospect of Johnson outside of parliament, writing columns and
giving speeches aimed at the voters Sunak needs to win the next election
will no doubt cause yet more anxiety in Downing Street.