Boris Johnson has accepted he misled the House of Commons when he said lockdown rules were followed in No 10 at all times, but insisted he would not have “dreamed” of “intentionally or recklessly” doing so.
The former Prime Minister’s written evidence to the Privileges Committee was published on Tuesday.
In it he says that statements he made to the House were incorrect, but were made “in good faith”.
“It is of course true that my statements to Parliament that the Rules and Guidance had been followed at all times did not turn out to be correct, and I take this opportunity to apologise to the House for that,” he said.
“That is clear from the findings in the Sue Gray report, and the result of the Metropolitan Police investigation, which I accept. When I announced the independent investigation on December8, 2021, I acknowledged to the House that I may be proved to be wrong, and that proved to be the case.”
He added: “I did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House on December 1, 2021, December 8, 2021, or on any other date. I would never have dreamed of doing so.”
Mr Johnson is due to be grilled by MPs on Wednesday in a make-or-break moment for his political career.
The committee, which has a Tory majority but is chaired by Labour's Harriet Harman, is investigating whether Mr Johnson was in contempt of Parliament when he said there were no Covid rule breaches in Downing Street.
MPs are considering at least four occasions when Mr Johnson may have misled MPs with his assurances.
If it upholds the accusation it could spell the end of his political career. The committee has the power to recommend a range of sanctions, including a 10-day suspension from the House of Commons.
This could result in a recall petition, which if signed by 10 per cent of his constituents would result in a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat in west London.
MPs would vote on any recommendations made by the committee.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has committed to giving his MPs a free vote over his predecessor’s fate, but has declined to reject claims from some of Mr Johnson’s allies that the process is a “witch hunt”.
In a 52-page document, Mr Johnson says he believes that the committee has "no evidence at all that supports an allegation" that he intentionally or recklessly misled the House.
He branded the inquiry’s allegation “illogical”, arguing that some of those who attended the events “wished me ill and would denounce me if I concealed the truth”.
“Far from achieving a ‘cover-up’, I would have known that any deception on my part would lead to instant exposure. This would have been senseless and immediately self-defeating,” he wrote.
He said it was “implausible” that he would have known the parties “immortalised” by his official photographer were rule-breaking.
“The only exception is the assertions of the discredited Dominic Cummings, which are not supported by any documentation,” Mr Johsnon added.
“There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event broke or may have broken the rules or guidance.”
Mr Johnson received one of the 126 fines issued by the Met during its investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and across Whitehall while he was prime minister.
The penalty was for attending his own birthday party in the Cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020. Mr Sunak was also fined for being at the event.
In his evidence, Mr Johnson wrote that he still does not understand why he was issued the fine for the party where “no cake was eaten, and no-one even sang “happy birthday”.
“I have accepted the conclusion of the police that my participation in the gathering in the Cabinet Room on my birthday, which I knew nothing about in advance, was unlawful,” he said.
“However, to this day it remains unclear to me – and I believe the Prime Minister may feel the same – how precisely we committed an offence under the Regulations. I have never been provided with any rationale by the Police, in particular how some individuals that attended did not receive a fixed penalty notice
An estimated £220,000 of taxpayers’ money has been allocated for Mr Johnson’s legal bills.
An interim report by the committee earlier this month said evidence strongly suggested breaches of Covid rules would have been “obvious” to the then-prime minister.
