Boris Johnson on TV today: how to watch Partygate inquiry - channel and live stream details

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson is appearing in front of the Privileges Committee on Wednesday 22 March in a hearing which is crucial to his political future.

Johnson is currently battling accusations which claim that he misled parliament by having rule-breaking lockdown parties in Downing Street during his tenure as prime minister. The 58-year-old, who is still an MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, accepted the committee’s invitation to attend a hearing over the allegations.

Johnson is being grilled by the committee’s members which consist of four Conservative MPs, two Labour MPs and one SNP MP. Partygate rocked the UK in the months following the Covid-19 pandemic but how can viewers tune in to watch proceedings and what has Johnson said ahead of the hearing?

Here is everything you need to know.

Is Boris Johnson on TV today?

Boris Johnson is appearing in front of the Privileges Committee on Wednesday 22 March from 2pm. The full hearing is being aired to the public and you can watch it as it happens on National World TV.

For others wanting to watch it on TV, there will also be extensive coverage of proceedings on BBC News and Sky News channels with the option of streaming the hearing online on your mobile phone or tablet device through BBC iPlayer and the Sky News live YouTube stream. 

What is the Privileges Committee?

The Privileges Committee is a cross party group of seven MPs which features four Conservative, two Labour and one SNP members. The group is currently chaired by Labour’s Harriet Harman. The select committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider matters relating to privileges referred to it by the house.

What has Boris Johnson said in his defence dossier?

Prior to the hearing, Boris Johnson formed a 52-page dossier which teed up some of his key defences. Here are some of the main points:

A ‘cramped’ workplace: Johnson and his legal team focused on the unique and challenging experience of working in Downing Street during the pandemic and emphasised the cramped work conditions and all-hour nature of their role. An architect of Downing Street is mentioned in the defence and he claims the building made it ‘inevitable’ that full social distancing was not always possible.

Belief guidance wasn’t breached: Johnson offers a run through of each of the high profile gatherings in No 10 and believes he did not believe guidance or rules were being breached at the time. For instance when referring to a gathering in the garden of Downing Street in May 2020, he tells the committee that he ‘believed implicitly that this was a work event, but with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside.”