LONDON — An investigation by British lawmakers concluded that Boris Johnson, while serving as prime minister, “deliberately misled” the House of Commons in answering questions about a series of alcohol-fueled parties at 10 Downing Street during the strict pandemic lockdowns ordered by his own government.
The report released Thursday by Parliament’s Privileges Committee, which has been investigating Johnson for a year, was scathing. It concluded that Johnson had knowingly misled Parliament when he repeatedly assured the House of Commons that all covid rules had been followed at all times at his offices and residences.
Johnson countered by describing himself as the victim of a witch hunt and lambasting the committee — a majority of whose members hail from his own party — as a “kangaroo court.” Many commentators in Britain compared his language to that of former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Johnson has his defenders — who say this is much ado about nothing and support his eventual comeback — but many members of his own party now think his time in electoral politics is over.
According to opinion polls, most Britons have already concluded that Johnson lied about the parties. A prominent advocacy group, the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said that Johnson’s behavior was shameful and that he owed the country an apology, not excuses.
After seeing a draft of the committee report last week, Johnson resigned from the House of Commons “with immediate effect.”
Johnson is the first British leader in modern history to be found to have intentionally misled his colleagues. Telling lies in the House of Commons is considered a serious, potentially career-ending transgression that can lead to suspension or expulsion from Westminster.
Johnson’s resignation preempted such a punishment while also triggering a special election in his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Before he resigned his seat and began attacking the committee, the lawmakers were prepared to recommend a 10-day suspension for Johnson over his falsehoods, which could have led to his recall.
After Johnson showed his contempt for the process Friday, the committee upped its recommendation to a 90-day suspension, a remarkable slap-down that could hamper Johnson’s assertion — citing Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Terminator movies — that “I’ll be back.”
Johnson assailed the report Thursday in a blistering 1,700-word statement, calling the investigation “a charade” and its conclusions “a load of complete tripe.”
Johnson has maintained that he “did not lie” and said he was “bewildered and appalled” at being “forced out.”
“I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch hunt underway, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result,” he said referring to the country’s departure from the European Union.
Johnson’s assertion is undercut by the fact that the seven-member committee is mostly made up of lawmakers from his own party.
It was also Johnson’s own party members in Parliament who ousted him as prime minister last year, finding him untrustworthy — and an electoral liability.
In its report, the Privileges Committee recommended that Johnson should be denied the Westminster pass that allows former lawmakers easy, clubby access to Parliament after they leave office. That might seem petty — but it is not trivial.
While a colleague could still sign Johnson in as a guest, such a ban would be a stunning rebuke and show how far the 58-year-old former columnist, former London mayor and world figure has fallen.
As leader of the Conservative Party, Johnson won a whomping 80-seat majority in the House of Commons in 2019. He is now being shunned in the chamber he dominated just months ago.
There are still fireworks to come. Parliament will debate the Privileges Committee report on Monday, said House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt.
Johnson’s premiership was undone by the scandal known as “Partygate” — a string of government gatherings that took place when pandemic restrictions barred most socializing and even kept people away from funerals. Johnson himself was fined by police for attending one party — a birthday celebration hosted by his wife — as was current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
But it wasn’t just the parties that got Johnson in trouble — it was his answers to Parliament about whether the parties happened at all and, if so, whether he knew they broke the rules.
Reaction from the opposition parties was blunt. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, called Johnson a “pound-shop Trump,” or a cheap imitation of the former American president.
“Boris Johnson is not only a lawbreaker but he’s a liar,” Rayner told British broadcasters.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said Johnson had “treated the public with utter disdain” in forcing millions into lockdown while he and his circle celebrated at garden parties, birthday gatherings, and farewell dos for staffers.
In its lengthy report, the Privileges Committee wrote, “We have concluded above that in deliberately misleading the house Mr Johnson committed a serious contempt. The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the prime minister, the most senior member of the government.”
The committee continued: “There is no precedent for a prime minister having been found to have deliberately misled the house. He misled the house on an issue of the greatest importance to the house and to the public, and did so repeatedly.”
After parties at 10 Downing and Chequers, the countryside residence of the prime minister, were revealed by the press — there were at least 16 and counting — Johnson first told Parliament that “the guidance was followed completely.”
He later said that some guidelines may been breached but that he thought the gatherings were appropriate work events allowed under the rules.
On Thursday, Johnson said there was not a “shred of evidence” that he knowingly lied, adding that the committee’s “argument can be boiled down to: ‘Look at this picture — that’s Boris Johnson with a glass in his hand. He must have known that the event was illegal. Therefore he lied.’”
This is not entirely accurate. There has been evidence generated by police, press and committee; there are photographs, emails, diary entries. Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s former private secretary, a civil servant, gave evidence. So did others. An unnamed official at Downing Street told the committee there was a “wider culture of not adhering to any rules.”
No longer a lawmaker, Johnson will give up his $110,00 annual salary. But according to his most recent filing, Johnson has made almost $8 million since leaving top office, mostly revenue from speaking fees.
As a former prime minister, Johnson will continue to receive publicly funded security and is entitled to an official chauffeur-driven government car.
