Cabinet secretary Simon Case says he never told Johnson all Covid rules and guidance were followed in No 10
The new evidence also shows that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, says that he never told Boris Johnson that Covid rules and guidance were followed at all time in Downing Street, and that he never assured him no parties were held.
Case also said he was not aware of anyone else giving Johnson these assurances.
He gave these answers in evidence to the committee.
As cabinet secretary, Case is the most senior civil servant in No 10. But he is not necessarily the person who briefs the PM most regularly, or whom Johnson would have relied on most for a briefing before PMQs.
Key events
As Boris Johnson’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds organised the drinks event for staff in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020. This was the first of the Partygate events investigated by the police and Sue Gray, and it earned Reynlds the nickname “party Marty”.
Reynolds sent an email to staff telling them it was a “BYOB” (bring your own booze” event. In evidence published today, he says he regrets this. He says:
With the benefit of hindsight, the language used was totally inappropriate and gave a misleading impression of the nature of the event.
It was an event held because staff needed a morale boost after an extremely difficult period when all sorts of tensions had begun to surface and I hoped that being thanked by the PM and talking to each other might strengthen their sense of being part of one team.
The event was not a party in any normal sense of the word.
Back to the Northern Ireland protocol deal vote, and David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, has mocked Liz Truss’s decision to vote against the Windsor framework.
Liz Truss voting against the Windsor Framework?
She voted FOR Theresa May’s deal, at Chequers, which is what created the problem that Rishi Sunak is now solving.
— David Davis (@DavidDavisMP) March 22, 2023
According to Tom Larkin at Sky, who is keeping a tally, at least 10 Tories will vote against the government today.
Hold onto your hats. It’s a spreadsheet day 🚨🧮
Brexit rebellion growing with some BIG names saying they’ll vote against Rishi Sunak’s deal, inc 2 former PMs.
12 MPs have confirmed they won’t vote for the deal today (by my count) – how many more join this group? pic.twitter.com/bdBXFjHE75
— Tom Larkin (@TomLarkinSky) March 22, 2023
Drinking wine in garden during work meeting within Covid rules, Johnson told Sue Gray
Boris Johnson told the Sue Gray inquiry that he did not see it as being against Covid rules to work in the No 10 garden while having a bottle of wine, the evidence released by the privileges committee today reveals. Johnson said:
I would encourage people into the garden for the pandemic.
I felt it would be wrong to stop people going into the garden.
It is democratic and conducive to staff wellbeing – where to go to draw the line?
When you are in the garden and in a meeting it was OK to have a bottle of wine accompanied by alcohol in moderation.
Certainly not against the rules as I understand them.
Steve Baker says Johnson risks being seen as ‘pound shop Nigel Farage because of stance on Northern Ireland protocol
Turning back to the Northern Ireland protocol deal vote for a moment, Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, has said that Boris Johnson risks being remembered as a “pound shop Nigel Farage” for his stance on the Windsor framework.
Baker said that reviving the Northern Ireland protocol bill, Johnson’s declared alternative to Rishi Sunak’s deal (see 9.40am), would “wreck our relations with the European Union and damage our standing internationally”. Sky’s Sam Coates has posted the full quote on Twitter.
In a pool interview, Steve Baker asks whether Boris Johnson wants to be remembered as “pound shop Nigel Farage” for opposing the Windsor Framework 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7XPgsqxFre
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) March 22, 2023
Liz Truss has not publicly called for the Northern Ireland protocol bill to be revived. But, in a briefing to journalists this morning, a source familiar with her thinking said that “as the instigator of the Northern Ireland protocol bill” (she introduced it as foreign secretary) she felt that Sunak’s deal did not satisfactorily resolve the problems thrown up by the protocol.
Johnson ‘often’ joined Friday night drinks in press office and could have ‘shut them down’ if he wanted, MPs told
In its report earlier this month the privileges committee said there was evidence that Boris Johnson sometimes used to join the regular Friday night drinks events in the No 10 press office. The report said that information came from evidence submitted to the committee, but it did not supply the quote.
Now we’ve got it. It is attributed to a No 10 official, who said that Johnson could have stopped these gathering if he wanted to. The official said:
The former prime minister often saw and joined these gatherings, either he was invited by Spads [special advisers] or spotted them whilst walking up to his flat.
The route he took down the corridor looks straight into the press room and vestibule so it’s impossible not to see.
He had the opportunity to shut them down but joined in, made speeches, had a drink with staff.
He could have taken the issue up with Martin Reynolds, his principal private secretary, to shut them down.
He could see what was happening and allowed the culture to continue.
In his statement yesterday Johnson said that he could not properly respond to the evidence that he sometimes joined Friday night drinks in the press office because the committee had not set out the allegation in detail. He said:
The fourth report contains an opaque reference to Friday night “press pffice gatherings” which I am said to have “occasionally joined” (at §21). No further detail is provided, and no such specific events are identified by the committee. Insofar as any allegation is made by the committee, it is incumbent on the committee to make it so that I can respond to it. That is particularly so if the committee are referring to an event that has never previously been identified or investigated by Sue Gray or the Metropolitan police.
Johnson ignored advice from senior official not to tell MPs all Covid guidance was followed, evidence shows
In his evidence yesterday Boris Johnson revealed that his principal private secretary, advised him to take out a reference to all the Covid guidance being followed in No 10 from a script he was going to use at PMQs on 8 December 2021.
Johnson’s evidence repeatedly stressed the difference between rules and guidance. He did tells MPs that both the rules and the guidance were followed, but the document he published yesterday implied he accepts that the claim about the guidance being followed all the time was more questionable.
Today the privileges committee has published the full quote from Reynolds in its bundle.
Reynolds has the wrong date; this PMQs was on the 8 December.
At PMQs Johnson ignored the advice saying he should take out the reference to guidance and told MPs: “The guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”
Cabinet secretary Simon Case says he never told Johnson all Covid rules and guidance were followed in No 10
The new evidence also shows that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, says that he never told Boris Johnson that Covid rules and guidance were followed at all time in Downing Street, and that he never assured him no parties were held.
Case also said he was not aware of anyone else giving Johnson these assurances.
He gave these answers in evidence to the committee.
As cabinet secretary, Case is the most senior civil servant in No 10. But he is not necessarily the person who briefs the PM most regularly, or whom Johnson would have relied on most for a briefing before PMQs.
‘I don’t know what we say about the flat’ – new Partygate evidence raises fresh questions for Johnson
The bundle of evidence published by the privileges committee this morning is full of interesting material. Here is a passage showing an exchange between Jack Doyle, the director of communications at the time, and an official when they were discussing how to respond to the first media inquiry, from Pippa Crerar (then at the Mirror, now the Guardian’s political editor) about Partygate.
“I don’t know what we say about the flat,” Doyle said.
That is a reference to the so-called Abba party in the Downing Street flat, which involved Abba music being played so loud that it could be heard in the No 10 press office several floors below. Carrie Johnson, Boris’s wife, was reportedly celebrating the departure of Dominic Cummings with friends.
Sue Gray did not properly investigate this for her report, and Johnson himself only made one oblique reference to it in his evidence yesterday.
Johnson urges Sunak to revive confrontational approach to EU as he confirms he will vote against protocol deal
We knew that Boris Johnson would not be voting for Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland protocol deal. He said so in a speech earlier this month. But to vote against, as he has said he will do today, makes his rebellion much more serious.
What is even more provocative is the reason he has given for voting against. In a statement given overnight to Daily Telegraph, he said:
The proposed arrangements would mean either that Northern Ireland remained captured by the EU legal order – and was increasingly divergent from the rest of the UK – or they would mean that the whole of the UK was unable properly to diverge and take advantage of Brexit.
That is not acceptable. I will be voting against the proposed arrangements today. Instead, the best course of action is to proceed with the Northern Ireland protocol bill, and make sure that we take back control.
The Northern Ireland protocol bill is the legislation that would allow the UK government to ignore parts of the protocol unilaterally. Many lawyers argued that it was illegal under international law, because it would involve the UK breaking a treaty it has signed.
Johnson introduced the bill when he was prime minister, and he has argued that the threat of British unilateral action made the EU more inclined to negotiate. Sunak has now abandoned the bill.
But proposing bringing it back, Johnson is not just arguing for tweaks to the deal that has been negotiated. He is in effect saying that it should be ripped up, and that Britain should revive the threat to just ignore the treaty with the EU that it agreed in 2019 (when he himself was PM).
This goes much further than what most other Tory or DUP critics of the deal have said, and, if it were ever implemented, would ignite diplomatic war with Brussels.
Commons privileges committee publishes evidence bundle ahead of Johnson’s evidence session
The Commons privileges committee has now published a bundle of evidence that Boris Johnson and the MPs questioning him may refer to during today’s session. It runs to 110 pages and it’s here.
In a statement the committee says:
The documents comprise the evidence and materials that will be referred to in the course of oral questioning by MPs. Much of the material has already been previously published, including in the committee’s fourth report.
All evidence has already been shared with the witness two weeks ago, in unredacted form. The documents published this morning are materials that the committee and Mr Johnson have selected, that will be referred to in the course of the oral evidence session later today. The committee is now publishing these materials for the benefit of those following the oral evidence session so that they’re able to follow proceedings accordingly.
Liz Truss to vote against Sunak’s Northern Ireland protocol deal
Liz Truss will join Boris Johnson in voting against Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland protocol deal today, PA Media is reporting, quoting a source close to Truss.
Truss is understood to believe the Windsor framework deal does not “satisfactorily resolve the issues thrown up by” the Northern Ireland protocol and “almost fatally impinges” on the UK’s ability to diverge from EU rules and regulations.
Boris Johnson says he will vote against Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal as he prepares to face Partygate inquiry
Good morning. Does it matter if ministers don’t tell the truth to parliament? In theory the answer is yes, and ever since John Profumo lied to MPs about his relationship with Christine Keeler, Erskine May, the parliamentary rulebook, has been explicit about misleading the Commons being a potential contempt of parliament. But has parliament got the will and the means to enforce this? That is what today’s privileges committee hearing with Boris Johnson is really all about.
For more background, you can read all our Partygate coverage here, and my colleague Archie Bland has a good one-stop summary of what to expect here.
Some reports say the Johnson hearing could last for up to five hours, and we’ve also got PMQs. But that’s not all. The God of News is particularly bountiful today, and we have also got a vote on Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland protocol deal, with confirmation overnight that Johnson (him again) will be voting against. My colleague Aletha Adu has the details.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: The Commons privileges committee publishes a bundle of evidence relevant to its inquiry into Johnson.
12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.45pm: MP begin the debate on regulations implementing the Stormont lock part of the Windsor framework, the revised version of the Northern Ireland protocol. The vote will come 90 minutes after the debate starts.
2pm: Johnson starts giving evidence to the privileges committee
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
