Former British prime inister Boris Johnson is fighting for his political future after MPs investigating his partygate denials denounced the “flimsy” assurances on which they were based on.
During a testimony that lasted three hours, where he was short-tempered at times, Mr Johnson insisted there was not a “shred of evidence” to show he lied to MPs.
It would have been “utterly insane” for him to have misled Parliament, he told the privileges committee, which could recommend his suspension from the Commons.
If a proposal for a 10-day suspension is voted through by MPs, a by-election could be held in Mr Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, possibly spelling the end of his parliamentary career.
He told MPs with “hand on heart” that he did not lie to Parliament as he gave evidence to a committee hearing into claims he misled parliament over the partygate scandal.
Mr Johnson frequently stressed he believed he was acting within the rules and guidelines, for work purposes, despite accusations that there were social gatherings.
He also dragged Rishi Sunak into his hearing by suggesting that if it should have been obvious to him that lockdown rules were being broken in No 10, it should also have been apparent to “the current Prime Minister”.
If Mr Johnson is found in contempt and sanctions are recommended, this is likely to cause a headache for Mr Sunak.
He has said he would not seek to influence MPs on the committee and was expected to grant a free vote in the Commons on any sanction that may be recommended.
In an interim report the committee said the evidence strongly suggested that breaches of coronavirus rules in No 10 Downing St should have been “obvious” to Mr Johnson.
Shown a picture of one gathering, he sought to defend the decision to proceed, despite Covid-19 stipulations on social distancing.
"I accept that perfect social distancing is not being observed but that does not mean that what we were doing, in my view, is incompatible with the guidance."
Committee member Sir Bernard Jenkin asked Mr Johnson whether his advice to other organisations during the coronavirus pandemic would have been that leaving celebrations were acceptable.
He told him the coronavirus guidance “does not say you can have a thank-you party”.
Mr Johnson said: “I believed that this event was not only reasonably necessary but it was essential for work purposes.”
The scandal, which rocked the government in 2021 and 2022, led to police fines for many of those involved, including Mr Johnson, and damaged the reputation of the government.
Members are examining evidence related to at least four occasions when he may have deliberately misled MPs with his assurances to the Commons that rules were being followed.
Chairing the Tory-majority committee, Labour veteran Harriet Harman said the evidence raises “clear questions” and that the hearing was Mr Johnson’s “opportunity to give us his answers”.
If he fails to convince the committee that he did not deliberately mislead the Commons, he could be found to have committed a contempt of Parliament.
The full House of Commons would vote on any recommendations and Mr Sunak has agreed to give Tory MPs a free vote on their conscience over Mr Johnson’s fate.
In a defence dossier published on Tuesday, Mr Johnson acknowledged that he misled Parliament, but that he did so unknowingly based on information he had received from aides.
In his opening statement, Mr Johnson told the committee there were a number of gatherings over “tricky months” which went past the point where they could be said to be necessary for work purposes.
“I'm here to say to you, hand on heart, that I did not lie to the house," he said.
"When those statements were made they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly believed at the time."
Mr Johnson placed great stock in the assurances he had received as prime minister and the fact that no one around had expressed concerns themselves, while also making much of the fact there is no evidence that he ever received warnings about breaches of guidance.
He said the committee had been investigating the events for more than 10 months and found nothing to show he was warned in advance that the gatherings broke lockdown rules.
Mr Johnson said claims by his former aide Dominic Cummings that he had raised concerns with him was “unsupported by any documentary evidence” and “plainly cannot be relied on”.
“He has every motive to lie,” Mr Johnson said.
He called on the committee to release all the evidence it has assembled.
“The best and fairest course now would be for the committee to publish all the evidence it has assembled so parliament and the public can judge for themselves,” Mr Johnson said.
“Despite my repeated requests, the committee has refused to do this.”
Mr Johnson said it “seemed to be the view of the committee and, sadly, many members of the public” that pictures showed him attending “rule-breaking parties when no one was social distancing”.
“They show nothing of the kind,” he said. “They show me giving a few words of thanks at a work event for a departing colleague.”
Boris Johnson delivers farewell speech at 10 Downing Street — in pictures
“They show me with my red box, passing on the way to another meeting or heading back into my flat to carry on working, often late into the night.
“They show a few people standing together as permitted by the guidance where full social distancing is not possible and where mitigating measures are taken.
“They show events which I was never fined for attending.”
Mr Johnson said the public will have had the impression that these were “covert photos” that have been obtained by the media.
“The vast majority were in fact taken by the official Number 10 photographer.
"To say that we would have held events in Number 10 while allowing these events to be immortalised by an official photographer is staggeringly implausible."
Mr Johnson said he and others in the building did not believe it was necessary or possible to have a two-metre or one-metre “electrified force field around every human being”, and that is “emphatically not what the guidance proscribed”.
He said there were “real difficulties” working efficiently and at speed in a “cramped and narrow 18th-century townhouse”, but people working in Downing Street did socially distance and “gave way to each other as wide a berth as we could”.
“My belief was that we were following the rules and the guidance to the best of our ability given the circumstances,” he said.
Asked where the screens and mitigation measures were in a photo at a leaving do for Lee Cain, the former director of communications at Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: "There were screens or barriers, I believe, in the adjacent press room.
"This is an impromptu gathering at which I am thanking staff ― at least one member of staff ― for his contribution during Covid.
"I believe it was an important part of my job to do that, that was the best place to do it."
Mr Johnson, referring to the image of Mr Cain's leaving event, replied: "I understand that people looking at that photograph will think it looks like a social event.
"It was not a social event. If anybody thinks I was partying during lockdown, they are completely wrong. That was not a party."
Asked whether he would have told other organisations, if asked at a government pandemic press conference, that they could hold "unsocially distanced farewell gatherings", Mr Johnson said: "I would have said it is up to organisations, as the guidance says, to decide how they are going to implement the guidance amongst them.
"Where they can't do social distancing perfectly, they can't maintain two metres or one metre, they are entitled to have mitigations.
"And we did indeed have plenty of mitigations."
He said he corrected the record on the day of Sue Gray's report and six days after the completion of the police investigation.
“If the committee's view is that I shouldn't have come to the house and provided an inevitably incomplete account while a government investigation was going on, including events I hadn't even attended, I fundamentally disagree.”
Opening the session, Ms Harman said “everyone makes mistakes” but they are required to correct them at the earliest occasion.
“In this inquiry we are not looking at the rights or wrongs of the first Covid rules or guidance,” she said.
“What the house has mandated us to look at is whether Mr Johnson told the truth to Parliament.
“It is about the truth and that is why the inquiry goes to the heart of the trust on which our system of accountability depends.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Read more about the coronavirus
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%20%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMonday%2C%20June%2019%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESri%20Lanka%20v%20UAE%2C%20Queen%E2%80%99s%20Sports%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2021%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOman%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFriday%2C%20June%2023%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EScotland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETuesday%2C%20June%2027%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIreland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
