London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Boris Johnson seeks to delay vote on Partygate probe

Boris Johnson seeks to delay vote on Partygate probe

The government will attempt to delay a decision over an investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled MPs about lockdown parties.

MPs were set to vote on Thursday on a Labour plan for a Commons committee to investigate his past comments about Whitehall gatherings.

But ministers now say that vote should wait until probes by the Met Police and civil servant Sue Gray have finished.

Some rebel Tory MPs were threatening to vote with Labour, or not at all.

A Labour source said the government "obviously knew that they couldn't vote this down" - and MPs backing the government would be "voting for a cover-up".

Speaking while travelling to India for an official trip, Mr Johnson told reporters he will fight the next general election and refused to say if there were any circumstances under which he would resign.

Asked if he would submit himself to the committee for investigation, the PM said it was best to wait for the police to conclude their inquires and Ms Gray to "have her final say".

"I think the best thing that we can all do is focus on the things that really change and improve the lives of voters and stop talking about politicians," he added.

Along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the PM was fined for breaking Covid laws at a June 2020 birthday party for him in No 10.

He had previously told MPs that no Covid laws were broken in Downing Street - leading opposition parties to accuse him of having misled Parliament.

Mr Johnson has denied knowingly misleading MPs - a charge that is a resigning matter under the ministerial rulebook.

Labour's plan - which was supported by other opposition parties - aimed to have the Commons privileges committee launch an inquiry into whether he had.

But the government has now tabled its own amendment to Labour's proposal, to say a vote on whether they should investigate should wait until the police have concluded their investigations and Ms Gray has published her report.

Conservative MPs will be ordered to vote for it - meaning it is highly likely to pass given the government's Commons majority. However Mr Johnson will miss the vote himself as he is making an official trip to India.


No 10 insiders say they were confident they could have killed off an inquiry on Thursday - and not enough Tory MPs were prepared to rebel against the government.

But there was clearly anxiety among Tory MPs about being forced to publicly block an investigation.

Which one of them wanted to have their face displayed on social media ads and leaflets in May's local elections, accused of taking part in a "stitch-up"?

The bet ministers are making is that once the Met investigation and Sue Gray's report are finished and published, there may not be appetite for yet another investigation into lockdown parties.

But should more fines emerge, or Sue Gray's report reveal particularly damning evidence, this could become more risky.

All they've done for now is delay the decision on whether the prime minister should face investigation, not killed it off completely.

It's a gamble, it seems, they are willing to make.

Mr Johnson is known to have attended at least two further events of the 12 being investigated by police, meaning he could be fined again.

Apologising for his fine on Tuesday, he said he respected the police's decision but argued that he did not think he was breaking the law at the time.

Sir Keir Starmer called his apology a "joke" and accused him of offering "insulting" and "absurd" excuses for his Covid fine.

Under Labour's plan, the privileges committee - made up of seven MPs - would have begun a probe after the Met inquiry has concluded.

The committee, which has a Tory majority, would determine whether the PM had committed a "contempt" of Parliament by misleading MPs.

The committee can ask for witnesses to give evidence and produce documents as part of its inquiries.

It can also recommend sanctions including suspension of an MP - although this requires the approval of the whole House of Commons.

What has the PM told MPs about parties?


When asked whether there was a party in Downing Street on 18 December 2020, Boris Johnson told the Commons on 1 December 2021 that "all guidance was followed completely in No 10".

After the publication of a video showing No 10 staff joking about the 18 December event, he told MPs on 8 December 2021 he had been "repeatedly assured" that "there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken".

Later that day, he told the Commons he was "sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times".

On 12 January 2022, he apologised for attending a Downing Street garden party on 20 May 2020 but said he had "believed implicitly" it was a work event.


Watch: What has the PM said before about alleged No 10 parties?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×