London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Partygate: Boris Johnson will hide behind ‘unknowingly’ defence

Partygate: Boris Johnson will hide behind ‘unknowingly’ defence

PM may get away with his rule-breaking but Labour and Lib Dems are still keen to force a confidence vote
When Boris Johnson takes to the dispatch box on Tuesday, for the first time in weeks, his allies will roar their support – an attempt to immediately dispel any questions about confidence in his leadership.

While the prime minister might appear at times contrite for breaking Covid laws during England’s first Covid lockdown, he is expected to maintain that at the time he did not believe he was doing anything wrong.

This defence is key to ensuring he cannot be found to have knowingly misled parliament when he proclaimed that no rules were broken in No 10, when stories of sloshed staff holding parties with suitcases full of wine and a DJ first emerged.

It is the “knowingly” that is most important.

Johnson will seek to brush the issue under the carpet, bat off calls to resign and urge MPs to focus on issues such as the war in Ukraine. He will inevitably be thrown lifelines by some supportive backbenchers. The matter will, inevitably, drag on.

On top of the ongoing Met police investigation and Sue Gray’s as-yet-unpublished report, opposition parties are also mounting an attempt to keep the spotlight on Johnson’s rule-breaking.

They are pushing for the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, to allow a vote on a debate about whether the prime minister should be held in contempt of parliament, potentially launching an investigation by the privileges committee into whether the Commons was misled.

This is a dangerous area for Johnson because the ministerial code that bears his signature is crystal clear that the price for misleading parliament is resignation.

While the text of any final motion has yet to materialise – and Hoyle will not deliver his ruling on whether to accept it or not until Tuesday at the earliest – Tory insiders admit the issue would be treated like a confidence vote.

But any vote will almost certainly be whipped, meaning the plan is doomed to fail even if it goes to a vote thanks to Johnson’s huge majority – barring a mammoth backbench rebellion.

One MP said they were considering voting against the government but knew that if they did so, they would be stripped of the whip and that would be the end of their political career.

“We have a reputation for being ruthless and brutal, which isn’t being lived up to at the moment,” they said.

There are those on the government’s side who also believe the move is premature, and that maximum damage would in fact be inflicted if the issue was left hanging unresolved in the run-up to next month’s local elections to inflict maximum damage.

Opposition parties are also sceptical about the chances of any investigation being able to use any evidence to prove Johnson misled parliament. “It’s not clear how we’d show that intent was incontrovertible,” a source said.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats are still keen to force the vote given the awkward timing for the Conservatives, with midterm local elections less than a month away.

Online adverts are being worked up to target voters in key areas where Tory MPs who may not want to offer Johnson their public support will be forced to back him.

While the government will certainly still win, it is another uneasy echo for some Tories of the downfall of Theresa May, whose administration was found in contempt of parliament less than four years ago.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×