'Total tripe': Boris Johnson denies lying about Partygate scandal and says he wasn't 'having a knees-up'

8 October 2024, 08:22 | Updated: 8 October 2024, 08:37

Boris Johnson talks to Nick Ferrari about lying

Boris Johnson has denied lying about Partygate, the scandal that helped to end his premiership.

Mr Johnson told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that he was talking "total tripe" about the Downing Street parties during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He denied "partying" or "having a knees-up" at the events, despite being pictured at one with a glass of wine in his hand.

The parties, which took place at a time when most British people were banned from socialising for fear of spreading the virus, sparked fury when the news emerged in late 2021.

Mr Johnson resigned as Prime Minister in July 2022, with his popularity and credibility cratering following Partygate and a sexual impropriety scandal involving his deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher.

Read more: The nine damning pictures from Sue Gray's final Partygate report

Read more: Boris Johnson tells LBC Sue Gray was 'always a goner' and in 'retrospect' was never the right person for Starmer role

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Boris Johnson joins Nick Ferrari | Watch the full interview

In his new memoir Unleashed, Mr Johnson said he regrets saying sorry for Partygate, writing that the apologies were "pathetic", "grovelling" and "made it look as though we were far more culpable than we were".

Pressed on reports of trolleys of alcohol and a karaoke machine being brought into the office, Mr Johnson told Nick: "I don't believe for a second that officials thought they were breaking the rules."

Referring to Sue Gray, who ended up investigating Partygate, he added: "By the way, who was in charge of the Cabinet Office where most of the parties took place?"

Ms Gray was second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office from May 2021. There is no suggestion she was involved in any of the socialising. She later became chief of staff to Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a move criticised by Mr Johnson and other Conservatives, and resigned from this post last week.

Mr Johnson was also asked if he would apologise for initiating wasteful and dubious PPE contracts during the pandemic.

In recent months, campaign group Transparency International UK has raised red flags about more than 130 such contracts, claiming some of them are at risk of corruption as they were awarded to inexperienced companies with close links to the Tories.

PPE worth an estimated £1.4 billion, which was acquired by the government in a single deal during the pandemic, has been destroyed or written off.

Mr Johnson told Nick that he remembered "our absolute desperation" to get PPE into the UK.

He then apologised for the dubious nature of some contracts, adding: "They did and I'm sorry about that but, you know, frankly, we needed that stuff as fast as possible.

"And I think most people really understand that. Our country was desperate for protective equipment.

"And, you know, I defend the government in trying to get it as fast as possible. And all sorts of crazy people were recommended to us for PPE, but we just had to act as fast as we could."