Boris Johnson is set to apologise to MPs for breaking his own lockdown laws when he makes his first statement to Parliament since being fined by police. The prime minister is expected to say he did not knowingly break the rules at a 2020 birthday party in No 10.
Opposition parties have accused him of lying to Parliament after he previously told MPs no rules had been broken. MPs will vote on Thursday on whether a Commons committee should investigate whether he misled Parliament over parties. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle accepted Labour's request for a vote, saying there was an 'arguable case to be examined'.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Johnson had not only broken the rules but lied to the public and Parliament. He accused the PM of using the war in Ukraine as a 'shield' to keep his job, calling the tactic 'pretty offensive'. If MPs vote for an inquiry, the privileges committee would examine whether Johnson is in contempt of Parliament, though any sanction is uncertain given the government's majority.
Johnson became the first serving UK prime minister to be fined for breaking the law, along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, for attending his birthday event in June 2020. He faces accusations of misleading MPs after initially telling them Covid rules had been followed. Under government rules, ministers are expected to resign for knowingly misleading Parliament.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon accused Johnson of 'repeatedly' lying to Parliament and said he should resign. More than 70 Conservative MPs have expressed support for the PM since he was fined, with only a handful publicly calling for him to quit.
