Jacob Rees Mogg has moved to defend the Prime Minister by claiming he did not have the right information when he told the House of Commons that no Covid laws had been broken.
Downing Street has said it will reveal if Boris Johnson is fined for breaking lockdown laws. He is believed to have attended at least three of the events being investigated and his wife, Carrie Johnson, is also reported to have been at some of them.
Asked if the prime minister had misled Parliament, Mr Rees-Mogg told a caller on LBC: “The fact that the prime minister was given wrong information doesn’t mean he misled people.
“The prime minister said he was told the rules were followed but that turns out not to be correct.
“If the prime minister is told information that is incorrect and passes that information on he has made no deliberate attempt to mislead anybody.”
The minister for Brexit opportunities also defended describing thepartygate row as “fluff”, adding that it was “not the most important issue in the world” since war broke out in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
He also suggested that any public inquiry into the Government’s response to lockdown should look into whether the lockdown rules were “proportionate” and said some rules were “inhumane”.
Downing Street has, so far, declined to say whether Boris Johnson believes coronavirus laws were broken at No 10 after fines were issued.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister wants to comment at the conclusion of the process and not at the middle of it.”
Asked if he agreed with Welsh Secretary Simon Hart’s assessment that the “world has moved on” from the partygate allegations, the spokesman said: “We recognise the strength of feeling around this issue which is why the Prime Minister came to the House to apologise and has talked about the mistakes made.
“We’ll have more to say at the conclusion of the process.”
He said Mr Johnson has not received a fixed penalty notice.
Downing Street did not back Government minister Jacob Rees-Mogg’s assessment that some of the coronavirus restrictions during lockdown were “inhumane”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think at all times the Government took action to save both lives and livelihoods and that was always a balanced judgment that sought to be informed by the latest evidence we had.
“We have established an inquiry to take a proper view and learn lessons about what happened and there will be more to say then. But certainly at all times the Government sought to act in the best interests of the United Kingdom.”
