Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to face questioning from MPs over allegations he may have misled Parliament about Covid rule-breaking parties, claims he denies. Investigations by senior civil servant Sue Gray and the Metropolitan Police last year found rules had been broken, resulting in fines for Johnson and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak.
A photo from May 2020 showed Johnson and staff with wine and a cheeseboard in the Downing Street garden. Johnson said they were 'at work talking about work', but legal restrictions at the time prohibited leaving home without a reasonable excuse. About 100 people were invited to 'socially distanced drinks', with around 30 attending, including the prime minister and his wife. The police later determined this event breached the rules.
In November 2020, a gathering in the Cabinet Office marked the departure of a No 10 private secretary, also found to have breached rules. On Johnson's birthday in June 2020, up to 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room to sing 'Happy Birthday'; three attendees, including Johnson, his wife Carrie Symonds, and Sunak, received fines. Two gatherings on November 13, 2020, one for a departing special adviser and another in the Downing Street flat reportedly celebrating Dominic Cummings' departure, were also investigated, with police confirming a breach but not specifying which event.
In December 2020, a leaving event for aide Cleo Watson involved drinking and a speech by Johnson. The Department for Education also held an office gathering to thank staff, despite London being under restrictions banning indoor meetings of two or more from different households unless for work. The Conservative Party admitted an 'unauthorised gathering' at its headquarters for Shaun Bailey's mayoral campaign team, though police found insufficient evidence of rule-breaking in November 2022.
A Christmas quiz for No 10 staff in December 2020, captured in a photo showing Johnson between two colleagues, was also scrutinised. Johnson denied wrongdoing, but the rules at the time banned indoor gatherings of two or more from different households unless reasonably necessary for work. The Department for Transport apologised for a confirmed party in its offices, calling it 'inappropriate'.
