“Party Gate”
Ex-confidant Cummings accuses Johnson of lying in the party scandal – he denies everything
Accuses Boris Johnson of lying: Dominic Cummings
© Yui Mok/PA Wire / DPA
There is simply no peace in the party affair surrounding British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Ironically, his former advisor Dominic Cummings made serious allegations. Johnson is said to have lied to Parliament. He firmly rejects this.
No breather for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the scandal surrounding lockdown parties at the seat of government: Johnson is now being heavily burdened by his former top adviser Dominic Cummings.
Cummings accused the head of government in online networks on Monday evening of having lied to parliament about the matter. According to a tweet by Cummings, ahead of the May 20, 2020 event in question, which was organized by his private secretary, Johnson was specifically told that it was a breach of lockdown rules. He himself warned the Prime Minister at the time that Downing Street was becoming a “madhouse”. However, the head of government decided that the celebration, at which “bring your own alcohol” was requested, should still take place, according to Cummings.
Boris Johnson denies knowing about the party
“The events of May 20 alone, not to mention the whole series of other events, mean that the Prime Minister lied to Parliament about the parties,” Cummings said. He and other eyewitnesses are ready to testify under oath in order to incriminate the prime minister, the ex-adviser continued.
Johnson has been under pressure for weeks over the “Partygate” revelations. Several MPs from his conservative Tory party and the opposition have already publicly called for his resignation.
A government spokesman rejected the allegations on Tuesday. “It is not true that the Prime Minister was informed about this event in advance,” he said. Johnson assumed it was a work meeting. In an interview with Sky News, Johnson also denied the allegations. “Certainly no one” drew his attention to the fact that an event in May 2020 in the garden of his office could violate the Corona requirements that were in force at the time, he asserted.
Justice Minister: Knowingly lying in Parliament is grounds for resignation
He emphasized again that he had assumed a working meeting. At the same time, Johnson apologized “for any wrong decisions that were made”. In response to calls for his resignation, he replied that the result of an internal report had to be awaited first.
Johnson also expressed regret over two parties that took place in April 2021 on the eve of Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip’s funeral. “I deeply and bitterly regret these decisions. I can only reiterate my apologies to the Queen and the country,” Johnson said.
Justice Minister Dominic Raab confirmed on BBC television that knowingly lying in Parliament is grounds for resignation. Cummings’ claims are “nonsense,” Raab continued. At the same time, however, Raab appeared to be inadvertently speaking of a Downing Street party himself, but quickly corrected himself.
Cummings himself criticized for violating corona rules
Last week in Parliament he admitted attending the said garden party at the seat of government in Downing Street in May 2020 and apologized. Johnson had previously protested in parliament that he had heard nothing at all about lockdown parties at the seat of government. At that time, the country was in a strict corona lockdown, and even meetings of more than two people outdoors were forbidden.
Cummings was also commenting on a second event on May 15, 2020 in Downing Street Gardens, which he himself attended alongside Johnson. It was not a party, he explained. At the time, government employees were asked to hold meetings outdoors because of the pandemic.
Cummings himself was criticized in spring 2020 for violating the corona rules. Since resigning in November 2020, he has repeatedly attacked his former boss.