Johnson Submits Partygate Document Full of Errors, But No Proof of Innocence

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson submitted a document to the parliament's Committee of Privileges containing many errors and typos, but no new evidence of his innocence in the case of parties at Downing 10 during COVID-19 lockdowns ahead of Wednesday hearing, the committee said on Tuesday.

"The Committee initially received the written evidence from Mr Johnson on Monday afternoon at 2.32pm [14:32 GMT] in unredacted form. The evidence submitted had a number of errors and typos, and, a final corrected version was not submitted to the Privileges Committee until 8.02 am this morning," the committee said in a statement, noting that the document contains no new documentary evidence.

In late June 2022, the Committee of Privileges said it was looking for witnesses and evidence to help establish whether Johnson had misled the parliament over parties at Downing 10 during COVID-19 lockdowns while he was in office. On March 3, the committee published a preliminary report detailing such cases.

Johnson may be suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days if it is proven that he misled the parliament. The suspension could serve as a justification for filing a petition to withdraw his parliamentary mandate.

The scandal erupted after it surfaced that several social gatherings had been held at Johnson's offices throughout 2020 and 2021, flouting COVID-19 social distancing rules. The situation was aggravated by the reports that two more parties were held on April 16, 2021 on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, when the UK still maintained COVID-19 restrictions and was in national mourning. Johnson later apologized and said he had paid the fine issued by the Metropolitan Police.