Page:Fifth Report - Matter referred on 21 April 2022 (conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson).pdf/87

8 December 2021	[Catherine West] “Will the Prime Minister tell the House whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November?” [Boris Johnson] “No, but I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”
15 December 2021	[Keir Starmer] “The message from the Government has to be “We know that following the rules won’t be easy this Christmas, but it is necessary.” Can the Prime Minister not see that he has no hope of regaining the moral authority to deliver that difficult message if he cannot be straight with the British public about the rule breaking in Downing Street last Christmas?” [Boris Johnson] “I have repeatedly answered that question before. As the right hon. and learned Gentleman knows, a report is being delivered to me by the Cabinet Secretary into exactly what went on.”
12 January 2022	[Boris Johnson] “When I went into that garden just after 6 o’clock on 20 May 2020, to thank groups of staff before going back into my office 25 minutes later to continue working, I believed implicitly that this was a work event, but with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them, and I should have recognised that even if it could be said technically to fall within the guidance, there would be millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way” [Keir Starmer] “It started with reports of boozy parties in Downing Street during lockdown. The Prime Minister pretended that he had been assured there were no parties—how that fits with his defence now, I do not know. Then the video landed, blowing the Prime Minister’s first defence out of the water. So then he pretended that he was sickened and furious about the parties. Now it turns out he was at the parties all along. Can the Prime Minister not see why the British public think he is lying through his teeth?” [Boris Johnson] “[…] What he said is wrong in several key respects […] As I have said to the House, I believe that the events in question were within the guidance and were within the rules, and that was certainly the assumption on which I operated”
12 January 2022	[Boris Johnson] “[…] All I ask is that Sue Gray be allowed to complete her inquiry into that day and several others, so that the full facts can be established”. [Keir Starmer] “The Prime Minister’s defence that he did not realise that he was at a party is so ridiculous that it is actually offensive to the British public. He has finally been forced to admit what everyone knew—that when the whole country was locked down, he was hosting boozy parties in Downing Street. Is he now going to do the decent thing and resign?” [Boris Johnson] “[…] I do not think that he should pre-empt the outcome of the inquiry. He will have a further opportunity, I hope, to question me as soon as possible” [Keir Starmer] “[…] Now it turns out he was at the parties all along. Can the Prime Minister not see why the British public think he is lying through his teeth?” [Boris Johnson] “[…] Can I say to him that he should wait—he should wait—before he jumps to conclusions, and a lawyer should respect the inquiry? I hope that he will wait until the facts are established and brought to this House.” [Ian Blackford] “[…] The Prime Minister stands before us accused of betraying the nation’s trust, of treating the public with contempt, of breaking the laws set by his own Government […] Will he Prime Minister finally do the decent thing and resign, or will his Tory MPs be forced to show him the door?” [Boris Johnson] “ […] With the greatest respect to him, I think that he should wait until the inquiry has concluded.” [Chris Bryant] “The Prime Minister did not spot that he was at a social event. That is the excuse, isn’t it? Come off it […] Would it not be absolutely despicable if, in the search for a scapegoat, some junior member of staff ended up losing their job while he kept his?” Boris Johnson] “[…] I really think, with all humility, I must ask him to wait for the result of the inquiry, when he will have abundant opportunity to question me again and to make his party political points again.”