Deputy PM admits there was a party on May 20
Dominic Raab has accidentally admitted there was a party at Downing Street on May 2o, whilst scrambling to deny claims the Prime Minister lied to Parliament.
The deputy prime minister, who is also tasked with overseeing the justice system, referred to the gathering as a “party” on Tuesday before backtracking in an embarrassing blunder that could prove Boris Johnson was partying during lockdown.
Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Raab admitted the drinks gathering was a “party” but denied it had been held in his honour, as reports had suggested.
Raab then attempted to backtrack: “No, exactly, er, no no-no. This is the claim that was made, it was nonsense, I wasn’t invited and I didn’t attend.”
Raab had been hoping to defend Johnson after ex-aide Dominic Cummings on Monday accused him of lying to Parliament about the BYOB gathering.
Last Wednesday, Johnson told MPs he “believed implicitly” it was a work event. He stands accused of lying to the House of Commons.
👀@DominicRaab: There was speculation 20 May party was held in my honour…
Kay: Was it?@DominicRaab: No, of course not…
Kay: So there was a party on 20 May then?#KayBurley #partygate UF pic.twitter.com/ogf73nrcbC
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) January 18, 2022
Raab’s comments follow a week of mounting pressure on Johnson to resign.
In a blog post, Cummings claimed Johnson was well aware he was attending a party and had been advised to quash the event before it was allowed to take place.
Johnson has said that the gathering, organised by his own secretary, Martin Reynolds via email, was a “work event” that he attended for 25 minutes.
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