It is a hearing that could be decisive for the rest of Boris Johnson's political career. On Wednesday March 22, 2023, a parliamentary inquiry, made up of seven MPs, scrutinized the former British Prime Minister's lies about the Downing Street parties taking place during the pandemic. The 58-year-old former Conservative Prime Minister and now backbencher insisted that he did not lie to Parliament. This Partygate then cost him his job and dragged the UK into months of political instability.
This hearing is a turning point for the political career of "BoJo": if the commission, which obtained the written testimonies of 23 people, concludes that he lied, he risks losing his seat as an MP, jeopardizing the rest of his career. politics and his hopes of one day returning to Downing Street. MPs will vote on any penalties he could face, including a suspension which, if longer than ten days, could trigger a by-election in his constituency, where his majority is slim.
Boris Johnson admitted to lying to the commission by denying the existence of these parties, then claiming that they had complied with anti-Covid rules, but pleaded good faith in a 52-page document made public on Tuesday, where he points the finger at his main advisers. "I apologize for inadvertently misleading Parliament, but to say I did so deliberately is totally untrue," he continued. The revelations about the drunken parties in Downing Street during a particularly strict confinement across the Channel had aroused the ire of the British, who had denounced an intolerable "double standard".
At the beginning of March, the commission had estimated that the elements collected "strongly suggest" that the violations of the anti-Covid rules should be "obvious" to Boris Johnson. He then resigned in July, pushed out by a revolt within his government.
