Boris Johnson was this Wednesday afternoon far from being the one who, as Prime Minister and leader of the British Conservatives, always had the upper hand and kept everything under control around him with his characteristic theatricality. In front of the parliamentary committee in charge of the investigation of the so-called ‘Partygate‘, that is, the party scandal that was held in government offices during the confinement by Covid-19, he was serious, except for a moment in which he lost his temper and in a combative tone accused the members of the Privileges Committee for nonsense, nonsense, of a session that lasted for just over three hours and whose main issue was whether or not the former ‘premier’ lied in Parliament, where on multiple occasions he defended that Downing Street did not break the rules imposed on the population to try to stop the pandemic. “This is complete nonsense! Complete nonsense. I asked the relevant people. And they were high-level people! »He assured, indignant.
And it is that this Wednesday, once again, the former prime minister insisted, after swearing on the Bible and “with his hand on his heart“, that “I did not lie to the House” of Commons. He also defended that the parties, which he called “essential work meetings”, were “within the rules”, as allegedly confirmed to him by some officials, whose names he refused to reveal.
However, in his 52-page defense brief, he does mention some of his closest advisers, some of whom were purged in an attempt to contain the scandal, and maintains that he acted “in good faith.” when he spoke to parliamentarians, although he considered that some of those meetings “at number 10 went beyond what was reasonably necessary for the job” and admitted that social distancing had not been “perfect”. It should be remembered that the Police opened an investigation that resulted in just over a hundred fines and the high-ranking official Sue Gray also carried out an internal investigation.
The former ‘premier’ puffs out his chest
The committee’s verdict is not expected for weeks, and Johnson puffed his chest at the end of the session, saying he would wait “to see how the committee will proceed with the evidence it has.” “I will study your conclusions based on the evidence,” he said, adding that if studied “in an impartial way”, the seven members, chaired by Labor Harriet Harman, will reach “the conclusion” that he himself exposed.
The former prime minister insisted, after swearing on the Bible and “with his hand on his heart”, that “I did not lie to the House” of Commons
If they find instead that he deliberately misled Parliament, Johnson faces suspension from the House of Commons, a move that could also trigger a by-election in his constituency, Uxbridge and South Ruislip. The expressions of the members, among whom is also the ‘Tory’ Bernard Jenkin, who got the former ‘premier’ to lose his temper with his questions, were incredulous at times. Johnson, ironically, said, after he was shown a photo of himself surrounded by people with alcoholic beverages in hand, that he couldn’t have an “invisible electrified fence around him.”
