STV NewsBoris Johnson knew about a Downing Street drinks party and lied to Parliament, Dominic Cummings has claimed.
In a blog post, former No 10 adviser Cummings insisted that he warned the Prime Minister about the party and urged him to get a grip on the “madhouse”.
But, according to Cummings, Johnson “waved aside” his concerns over the principal private secretary Martin Reynolds inviting over 100 people to the ‘bring your own booze’ event on May 20, 2020.
And he said regarding that day alone, “never mind the string of other events”, the Prime Minister “lied to Parliament about parties” by insisting he had been assured no events had taken place that would have broken coronavirus rules.
“Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened,” Cummings added.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson admitted attending the event on May 20, but insisted he believed it was a work event which could “technically” have been within the rules.
Previously however, he had told the Commons that he had been “repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”.
In an updated blog-post on Monday, Cummings said he had warned Reynolds that his emailed invite to staff “broke the rules”.
“Amid discussion over the future of the Cabinet Secretary and PPS himself, which had been going on for days, I said to the PM something like: ‘Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse’,” the former adviser wrote.
“The PM waved it aside.
“The events of 20 May alone, never mind the string of other events, mean the PM lied to Parliament about parties.
“Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened.”
Following the claims made by Cummings, the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford explained that lying to Parliament would be a “clear breach” of the ministerial code, which would require Johnson to resign.
“The Prime Minister’s former chief advisor, who was in post at the time Boris Johnson broke the law, has said he is willing to testify on oath that the Prime Minister was warned about the Downing Street party, allowed it to go ahead anyway, attended it himself, and then lied to Parliament.
“Lying to Parliament would be a clear breach of the ministerial code alone, and would require the Prime Minister to resign immediately.
“That makes Mr Cummings a key witness in Sue Grey’s inquiry. Without his account, the inquiry will not be worth the paper it is written on.
“The Prime Minister must now confirm that Sue Grey will interview Dominic Cummings as part of her investigation.”
Blackford added that Conservative MPs must decide how long will “cover for a man who is evidently unfit for office”.
He said: “Mr Johnson must then come to Parliament and put on record whether he believes Mr Cummings is lying, or whether he will finally admit that he has repeatedly lied to Parliament and the people himself.
“Tory MPs must decide how much longer they are willing to cover for a man who is so evidently unfit for office.
“With every day that passes, they lose more credibility and do more damage to their party and public faith in the UK government.”
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