Boris Johnson news - live: Ex-PM admits he misled the Commons but says 'no evidence' it was intentional

Close

First sight of Boris Johnson since release of Partygate defense brief

Sign up to the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxReceive our free View from Westminster emailPlease Enter a valid email addressPlease enter a valid email address about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice{{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}An error has occurred. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Boris Johnson admits he misled Parliament, but said there was "no evidence" he did so intentionally, insisting that his statements to the Commons regarding the Partygate scandal were in "good faith".

The committee investigating whether Mr Johnson knowingly misled Parliament has published the former Prime Minister's 52-page defence.

In its argument legal, Mr Johnson insisted he had not been warned that gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic broke lockdown rules. He said that after learning they had done so, he corrected the record at the "earliest opportunity".

"So I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the rules and guidelines were fully followed at No 10," he wrote.

"But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith and based on what I honestly knew and believed at the time.

He said he "did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House" and that he would not have "never thought of doing it".

Mr Johnson submitted his dossier of evidence to the...