Partygate: Boris Johnson won't say if he'll step down if he broke ministerial code

The exchange came during the Prime Minister’s appearance in front of Westminster’s Liaison Committee, a senior committee made up of the chairs of the parliament’s select committees.

Wishart, the SNP’s longest-serving MP, opened the proceedings by quizzing Johnson on his involvement in the “partygate” scandal.

“Let’s go over some of the things that you have said to us,” Wishart said. “Some of it is, I think, very difficult to understand.”

READ MORE: Boris Johnson attempting to 'wriggle off the hook' with partygate defence

“First you said there was no rule break. And then you claimed you weren’t aware of any of these parties. Then you said it was a work meeting. Then you said you were outraged by them.

“Then you said you were aware of these events but they weren’t against the rules. And finally you admitted you were at these events but you were so ignorant of the rules you didn’t realise you were breaking them.

“Do you understand why the public has such difficulty with all of this?”

In his reply, the Prime Minister said there would “come a point when I will be able to talk about the investigation and the conclusions of the investigation, that is when the investigation is concluded”.

READ MORE: Matt Hancock says those issued with partygate fines should not resign

Pushing on, Wishart said: “If it has been found that you did break the ministerial code, which looking at all the things you've said and all the things that have transpired, it’s crystal clear that you did, that will be a resignation issue for you?”

"Hold your horses," the Prime Minister said, again claiming that any answers would have to wait until the “conclusion of the investigation, when there will be a lot more clarity”.

Johnson repeatedly refused to “give a running commentary” on the partygate scandal when asked about it by the committee, saying he would speak on the matter only after “the investigations” were concluded.

Asked if that meant when the Met Police said they had finished probing the case by Labour MP Clive Betts, Johnson was evasive, hinting that the Sue Gray report may delay things further.

He said: “Yes, because it's only at that stage that we will be able to conclude the Sue Gray process and that's when we'll be able to wrap the whole thing up.

“And that, and I mean genuinely, I think is the sensible moment for us to have a discussion.”

Labour MP Catherine McKinnell asked Johnson to “at least give us a clear answer” on whether the London Met’s issuing of 20 fixed penalty notices meant that the law had been broken on Downing Street.

So far, Downing Street has repeatedly refused to accept that this means any laws were broken, with an official spokesperson even contradicting Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab on the issue on Wednesday.

McKinnell (above) asked the Prime Minister: “The big concern people have is that you're not able to be clear or straight on these issues if you can't even answer the question as to whether any laws were broken in Whitehall during lockdown when 20 fixed penalty notices were issued. Can you at least give us a clear answer on that?”

In his response, the Prime Minister questioned if 20 fixed penalty notices had been doled out – something the Met made explicitly clear, saying there were “20 fixed penalty notices to be issued for breaches of Covid-19 regulations”.

Johnson added that it would be “really quite sensible of us all” to wait for the conclusion of the investigations into partygate.

Police are investigating 12 separate events over two years, five of which Johnson reportedly attended, and one of which he told Parliament he had done.

The Prime Minister told Parliament he had attended a “bring your own booze” party in the No 10 garden during lockdown to which around 100 people had been invited. He claimed he had believed it to be a work event.