Harriet Harmanchairman of the Privileges Committee that carried out the grilling rejected the former prime minister’s demand that the inquiry only consider his discussion of guidelines for the coronavirus.
The Labor great man said the MPs on the cross-party committee will leave their “partisan interests at the door of the committee room and carry out our work in the interest of the House,” as she rejected claims of bias.
She stressed that the committee “does not rely” on evidence from Sue Gray’s report as Johnson allies claim the investigation is a “witch hunt” with the official joining the office of Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Harman, chair of the Tory majority committee, said the evidence raises “obvious questions” and that the hearing is Mr Johnson’s “chance to give us his answers”.
Mr Johnson swore on the Bible to tell the truth before apologizing and adding: “I am here to tell you, hand on heart, I have not lied to Parliament.
A video clip of footage broadcast by the UK Parliament’s Parliamentary Recording Unit shows Boris Johnson looking at photos of himself in Downing Street on June 19, 2020
/ PRU/AFP via Getty Images“When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and based on what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”
He said that if it was so “obvious” that rules were being broken in No. 10, as the commission states, it would have been “obvious” to others, including Rishi Sunak.
Mr Johnson, supported in the chamber by arch-loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg, accused Ms Harman of having said things in the past that are “detrimental” to his cause.
And he argued that the process used to decide whether he was in contempt of Parliament is “manifestly unfair”.
“You have found nothing to show that I was forewarned that the events in issue #10 were illegal, in fact nothing to show that anyone was concerned about an event either before or after it happened,” he said.
“If there had been that much concern about a rule-breaking event at number 10, it would undoubtedly have escalated to me.”
He added that a claim by his former aide, Dominic Cummings, that he had raised concerns with the then prime minister was “unsupported by any documentary evidence” and “clearly cannot be trusted”.
“He has every reason to lie,” Johnson claimed.
Mr Johnson told the inquiry that if it accuses him of lying, it will raise the same charge against civil servants, advisers and MPs.
“I don’t think you seriously intend to accuse those individuals of lying and I don’t think you seriously intend to accuse me of lying,” he said.
Showing a photo of himself surrounded by colleagues and drinks during a departure, Mr Johnson argued that No 10 staff cannot have an “invisible electrified fence around them”.
“They will occasionally drift into each other’s orbits,” he said, accepting that “perfect social distancing is not observed” in the image but denying that this violated guidelines.
“I believe it was absolutely essential for work purposes,” he said of the event for outgoing communications director Lee Cain in November 2020.
The committee took a short break in its work so that Mr Johnson and the other MPs could vote on the Prime Minister’s new post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Johnson had dealt a blow to his successor and promised to vote against the government.
He is fighting to avoid a suspension and a possible by-election that could follow if he is found to have contempt for Parliament.
In evidence published by the commission, officials denied telling him no guidelines had been broken during mid-pandemic celebrations before he insisted that all rules be adhered to.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has told the inquiry that he was unaware of any officials giving Mr Johnson that assurance.
Jack Doyle, who was Mr. Johnson’s chief of communications when the party gate story broke, said he failed to tell Mr Johnson that all coronavirus guidelines had been followed.
And former private secretary Martin Reynolds said he cautioned against claiming all rules had been followed before Johnson issued a denial to Parliament.
Mr Reynolds wrote to the committee that he recalled asking Mr Johnson about a suggested line to say during the Prime Minister’s questions, “suggesting that all rules and guidelines had been followed”.
“I accepted, but doubted it was realistic to claim that all guidelines had been followed at all times given the nature of the work environment in No. 10. He agreed to remove the reference to guidance.”
But on December 8, 2021, Mr Johnson went on to tell the House of Commons “the guidelines were followed and the rules were followed at all times”.
Mr Case answered the inquiry’s questionnaire asking if he assured Mr Johnson that Covid rules were “followed at all times” by saying “No”.
The former prime minister accepted that his denials turned out to be incorrect, but said he would correct the record as soon as possible.
If Mr Johnson fails to convince the committee that he has not deliberately misled the House of Commons, it can be determined that he has contemptuous Parliament.
A suspension of 10 days or more could lead to a high-profile by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.
The full House of Commons would vote on all recommendations and Sunak has agreed to allow Tory MPs to vote their consciences over Johnson’s fate.