As it happened: Boris Johnson questioned about partygate by Privileges Committee

Boris Johnson has finished his opening statement. His overall argument appears to be that everyone in No10 thought they were following the rules. If the committee accuses him of lying, then it also accuses everyone else who was there of lying - including current PM Rishi Sunak. His general implication was that it was a busy time in a cramped environment responding to a national crisis. Now we'll see if the evidence given by his staff matches up with that.

You would think this would be obvious, but Committee member Sir Bernard Jenkin is going through Boris Johnson's comments about the rules - which he wrote - at the time of his three main statements to the Commons. Johnson confirms he was aware of the rules.

Sir Bernard Jenkin asks Johnson about the photo of the then Prime Minister holding up a drink, with people standing around him, on 13 November 2020. Sir Bernard asks him if he accepts social distancing and the guidance wasn't being followed?

Johnson says: "I don't accept that people were not making an effort to distance themselves socially from each other, and that happened all the time I was in No10."

He adds: "The confines of No10 make it impossible to enforce social distancing at all times."

Johnson says it was an essential work event. This was a leaving speech for his head of communications Lee Cain.

Giving an account of the birthday party for which he was fined, Boris Johnson told MPs: “It never occurred to me – or I think the current Prime Minister – at the time that the event was not in compliance with the rules and the guidance.

“At about 2.22pm on 19 June, 2020 I went into the Cabinet Room where I worked after getting back from a long external visit.

“I stood at my desk – briefly – before another Covid meeting began and had a kind of salad.

“A number of officials came in to wish me a happy birthday. No one sang, the famous Union Jack cake remained in its Tupperware box, unnoticed by me, and was later discovered and eaten by my private secretaries.”

A “slightly exaggerated” version of the event was briefed to The Times “with singing and cake eating” and yet nothing untoward was detected “either by the reporter or by millions of eagle-eyed readers”.

That meant that when he addressed MPs “it did not for one second occur to me that this event, the one event for which I was fined, would later be found to be somehow against the rules”.

“And the same goes for all the events I attended.”

Harriet Harman has picked up on a phrase Boris Johnson has used, when he says there were "imperfect social distancing". What she is getting at is that if the social distancing was imperfect, how can Johnson have said all the rules and guidance were followed? Johnson says he is sure that people got closer than 2 metres all over the country.

Sir Bernard Jenkin has asked why the Prime Minister was allowed to attend a leaving doo, when it was against the rules and guidance? Boris Johnson has said this was a work meeting.

Asked about a gathering on 13 November, 2020, in which the former Prime Minister is seen in a photograph giving a toast, he told the Privileges Committee: “This meeting happened on an impromptu basis, it had to happen.

“It happened because on November 13 two senior members… people will ask why was this happening, why was it necessary?

“It was necessary because two senior members of staff, the effective chief of staff and director of communications had both left the building, or were about to leave the building in pretty acrimonious circumstances — or what were potentially acrimonious circumstances.

“It was important for me to be there and to give reassurance.”

Harriet Harman has called for another break in proceedings as there is a vote in the House of Commons.

The Privileges Committee has moved onto the event in Downing Street on 19 June for Boris Johnson's birthday, which he was fined for. Carrie Johnson and the family's decorator were also in attendance. Johnson says he thought it was reasonably necessary for work purposes because he was standing at his desk. He says "it seems to me it was a perfectly proper thing to do". He says his wife was there because of the "peculiarities of Downing Street". Johnson says he had "absolutely no sense that this was in contravention of the rules and guidance".

Labour’s Yvonne Fovargue is asking about the garden party on 15 May. Around 20 staff - including Boris and Carrie Johnson, as well as Dominic Cummings - attended the Downing Street garden for an event that included cheese and wine. It came just hours after a press conference hosted by then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the public to “stay at home as much as is possible” and “stick with the rules”. 

Emails showed the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited 200 members of staff to “socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden”. Reynolds encouraged those attending to “bring your own booze”. 

Johnson said he did not see this email. He says the meeting was needed to thank staff. Fovargue says that members of staff in No10 raised concerns about the party. Johnson says he was not made aware of these. He says that some of the concern was about "the optics". Fovargue says Lee Cain, head of communications, says it was likely he would have raised concerns with Johnson, although he cannot remember. Martin Reynolds says it is possible he raised concerns with Johnson.

Getting a bit lost on all the parties being mentioned here? There were a lot! My colleagues Henry Sandercock and Imogen Howse have put together a hand timeline on the gatherings:

15 May - Around 20 staff - including Boris and Carrie Johnson, as well as Dominic Cummings - attended the Downing Street garden for an event that included cheese and wine. It came just hours after a press conference hosted by then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the public to “stay at home as much as is possible” and “stick with the rules”. 18 June - Gathering in the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a No 10 private secretary.

19 June - Gathering in Cabinet room in No 10 Downing Street for Boris Johnson’s birthday. Up to 30 people were there to present the Prime Minister with a cake and sing ‘happy birthday’, according to ITV News. The Government says the gathering was brief and the PM was only there "for less than 10 minutes”. It’s this event Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are believed to have been fined for.

13 November 2020 - gathering in No 10 Downing Street flat and a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser. Boris Johnson was said to have started this party in the Sunday Times on 17 April. Photos have since emerged of Johnson raising a glass at this gathering.

27 November - gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser.

15 December - gathering at No 10 Downing Street for an online Christmas quiz.

17 December - three incidents reported in Sue Gray’s report which details gathering in the Cabinet Office 70 Whitehall held an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office and departures of senior officials.

18 December - Downing Street staff are believed to have held a Christmas party, with reports that dozens of people were at the event. Some attendees were said to have worn festive jumpers and exchanged Secret Santa gifts.

22 December - The Prime Minister’s then-press secretary Allegra Stratton is filmed at a mock press conference answering questions about a Downing Street Christmas party. The footage did not emerge until 7 December 2021.