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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Tom Scotson

Merseyside MPs accuse Boris Johnson of "lying" as new Partygate pictures emerge

Merseyside MPs branded Boris Johnson “disgusting” and “a liar” after leaked photos of the Prime Minister appearing to raise a toast emerged.

ITV released leaked images of the Prime Minister appearing to raise a glass at a leaving do for Lee Cain, his director of communications. The alleged gathering took place on November 13 2020, when the country was in lockdown.

Wallasey MP Angela Eagle criticised the Prime Minister’s “deliberate mendacity” and urged him to resign. She also shared video footage of Johnson rubbishing claims to the House of Commons that a party took place in mid-November.

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Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, a former minister under Gordon Brown and Angela’s sister, tweeted “Lie after lie after lie from #LiarJohnson ” and claimed Johnson had “lied to the House of Commons”.

Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson tweeted: “The rules in place on November 13 2020 said, meeting indoors was not allowed. Presumably that’s why people were fined at the event at Downing Street. So why wasn’t Boris Johnson fined?”

Wirral South MP Alison Mcgovern and Riverside MP Kim Johnson shared the ITV exclusive on their social media pages.

Parliamentary representatives Ian Byrne or Paula Baker, who were exceptionally critical of the PM’s lockdown-breaking parties, have not yet commented on social media. Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley reposted the Mirror’s front page which was titled “how did he [Mr Johnson] get away with this?”

Southport and Conservative MP Damien Moore has not yet commented.

The Metropolitan Police conducted a £460,000 investigation into the Partygate scandal. The PM received one £50 fine for breaking the rules at a birthday party in June 2020.

After the Metropolitan Police finished its investigation Dominic Cummings, who fell out with the Prime Minister spectacularly, warned political commentators more photos of lockdown-busting parties would emerge.

Scotland Yard has come under increasing pressure to explain why Mr Johnson was not fined more than once. The news comes as the Sue Gray report, an independent inquiry into the Downing Street gatherings, is expected to be published this week.

The independent report was led by senior civil servant Sue Gray and was separate from the police's investigation.

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