Boris Johnson is expected to come up with a new defence for No.10′s partygate scandal by claiming it was his job to go to work parties during the pandemic – although few people seem to agree.
The prime minister has been in hot water since November over allegations that Downing Street was holding parties when the rest of the country was in lockdown over the last two years.
No.10 has tried a range of excuses to dodge the probing questions about such gatherings – including alleging that no Covid rules had been broken at all and that the rules were too hard to follow.
Johnson also claimed he “implicitly” believed the “bring your own booze” from May 2020 was a work event – even though it was a drinks party with around 40 people in attendance.
As more and more evidence was leaked to the press about Downing Street gatherings, Johnson called for an internal inquiry – led by civil servant Sue Gray – before the Metropolitan Police announced it was also launching an investigation.
The prime minister had to answer a questionnaire for the police on Friday over as many as six parties said to be held in Downing Street.
He has reportedly employed his own lawyer (after No.10 was forced to admit he was not going to use taxpayer funds).
Now, according to The Times’ Simon Nixon, Johnson’s new defence for attending three of these parties will be along the lines of, “yes there were parties and it was my job to go to them”.
Pretty safe to say that not many people probably won’t be that confused by this argument if it is the one Johnson goes for...
Here’s a roundup of the most scathing responses to the report on Twitter.
Meanwhile, other ministers are still trying to defend Johnson by suggesting he attended the parties accidentally – which is, understandably, leading to further disbelief.