Matter referred on 21 April 2022 (conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson): Final Report
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- 18 December 2020 with the Rules. They were therefore not appropriate to be cited as an authoritative indication of No. 10’s compliance with Covid measures. See paragraphs 139 to 144, 163 to 165, and 176 to 178.
- Mr Johnson misled the House when he gave the impression that there needed to be an investigation by the Second Permanent Secretary to establish whether the rules and guidance had been broken before he could answer questions to the House. While repeatedly making that statement to the House, he had personal knowledge that he did not reveal. See paragraphs 23 to 94, and 127.
- We additionally find that Mr Johnson misled the House when he purported to correct the record on 25 May 2022. We have concluded above that his statement on that date that the Covid Rules and Guidance were followed while he was in attendance at farewell gatherings at No. 10 was misleading. As such, it represented a continuation of his previous misleading of the House, and seeking to present it as a correction was itself misleading. His insistence on the truthfulness of this statement in his written evidence, and his refusal to correct the record when invited to do so during his oral evidence on 22 March 2023, is a further misleading. See paragraphs 131, and 187. (Paragraph 188)
24. We further conclude that Mr Johnson has been disingenuous with the Committee in ways which amount to misleading, as follows:
- By adopting a narrow and restricted interpretation of the assertions he gave to the House in PMQs on 1 and 8 December 2021 which is at odds with the general impression he clearly wished to give in the House that all Rules and Guidance at No. 10 had been followed at all times. See paragraphs 180 to 183.
- By claiming that when he referred to having been repeatedly assured, by “repeatedly” he had meant merely “on more than one occasion”. We note that this is contrary to common English usage. It is clear that when Mr Johnson used the term “repeatedly” at PMQs, he wished his audience to suppose that there had been multiple occasions at which assurances had been given, rather than merely more than one, and, as suggested by our evidence, possibly as few as two. See paragraph 134.
- By undertaking to provide the Committee with the name of another person who had provided assurances, and then failing to do so. See paragraphs 167 to 169.
- By stating at the oral evidence session that the Committee had withheld from publication “the evidence that I rely on, which answers the charges” and “a large number of extracts which I rely upon in my defence”, but then, when the Committee had facilitated the production of that evidence accompanied by statements of truth, failing to make any use of it in his subsequent final submission. This strongly suggests that Mr Johnson did not “rely on” the evidence at all but was simply using it as a gambit to criticise the Committee in the public hearing. See paragraph 220.
- By advancing an unsustainable interpretation of Guidance in order that he can deny the implications of the evidence showing a lack of social distancing. See paragraphs 99 to 102, and 115 to 116.
