Boris Johnson agrees that ministers who ‘knowingly’ mislead Commons should quit, says No 10

Prime minister abides by ministerial code ban on deliberately misleading Commons, says spokesperson

Boris Johnson has admitted he attended the BYOB gathering on 20 May 2020 – although he insists he understood it to be a ‘work event’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Boris Johnson supports and abides by rules which state that a minister who knowingly misleads parliament should resign, Downing Street has said.

The assurance comes soon after former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings accused the prime minister of lying to the Commons when he said he believed “implicitly” that a gathering in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 was a work event.

Mr Cummings said he was willing to swear under oath that the PM knew it was drinks party. He claimed the PM gave the OK for the gathering to go ahead, after principal private secretary Martin Reynolds consulted him after being warned it would not be appropriate at a time when the UK was under lockdown restrictions.

Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab this morning said that a prime minister would “normally” be expected to quit if he intentionally misled parliament.

And Mr Raab’s statement was backed by Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson, who told a regular daily Westminster media briefing: “The ministerial code is very clear on this point, when it comes to knowingly misleading the House, and the prime minister abides by that and we fully support it.”

However, the spokesperson stressed that this did not amount to saying that the PM will quit if the “partygate” inquiry being led by Whitehall mandarin Sue Gray finds against him.

“It’s important not to jump ahead and seek to conflate what is clearly set out in the ministerial code -which the prime minister supports - and conflate that with what the investigation may or may not conclude,” said the spokesperson.

He added: “You have seen us say repeatedly that it is untrue that the prime minister was warned about the event in advance and you have got the prime minister’s statement to the House.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today insisted he accepts Mr Johnson’s explanation for the events of 20 May 2020, backing the PM’s appeal for patience while Ms Gray completes her inquiry.

But pressed during a pooled session with broadcasters whether he supports the PM “unequivocally”, Mr Sunak abruptly removed his microphone and broke off the interview.

In the Commons last week, the Prime Minister admitted spending 25 minutes at the gathering but insisted he had believed “implicitly” that it would be a work event.

Mr Raab told Times Radio: “The suggestion that he lied is nonsense. He’s made it very clear to the House of Commons that questions on this… that he thought it was a work event.”

Pressed on what would be expected if Mr Johnson had lied to the Commons, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If it’s lying, deliberate in the way you describe, if it’s not corrected immediately, it would normally under the ministerial code and the governance around Parliament be a resigning matter.”

Mr Raab also described the event in question as a “party” before rowing back on the remark.

“There was speculation that the May 20 party was held in my honour, to thank me, which is just ridiculous,” he told Sky News.

Asked if that means it was a party then, he said: “No, no, no, this was the claim that was made and it was nonsense, I wasn’t invited and I didn’t attend.”