Page:Fifth Report - Matter referred on 21 April 2022 (conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson).pdf/27

 68. We received three witness statements attesting to a lack of social distancing at this event. Jack Doyle, who was Press Secretary at the time and subsequently Director of Communications, stated that there were “certainly more than 20” people in attendance (in a small room measuring about 5 metres by 6 metres). Another witness has stated that they could not make their way from their office through the vestibule because of the throng of people: “I stood on tiptoes and thought how do I get out? […] I remember vividly that it was about 4–5 people deep […] I remember thinking “I’d like to get out of my office and I can’t”. Another witness stated that Mr Johnson joked during this gathering that it was “probably the most unsocially distanced gathering in the UK right now”.

69. In his written evidence Mr Johnson stated that he did not remember making the remark about “the most unsocially distanced gathering” at this particular event, and “it seems unlikely given that it was, as [No. 10 official] says, a small and impromptu event”. However, he also stated that he “might well have made observations in speeches about social distancing”. He elaborated in oral evidence: “it is certainly likely that I would have drawn attention to the importance of social distancing, since that was very high in people’s minds.” In his written evidence he drew attention to the fact that the witness who referred to the alleged remark went on to state that Mr Johnson “had a glass of water in his hand, made a short speech and then went up to his flat. He was the most sensible person there to be honest.” Mr Johnson added that any observations he may have made about social distancing did not mean he thought the Guidance was contravened: “I did not believe that the Guidance required full social distancing at all times provided you did what you could overall, and put additional mitigations in place where social distancing was not possible”.

70. Mr Johnson repeated about this event his comments about ‘leaving gatherings’ in general: "I would typically be told by one of my officials that a gathering would shortly be taking place to thank a member of staff who was departing. I would grab a piece of paper, and scrawl some things to say about that official’s contribution. When I arrived at the room, I would see the same people I worked with every day, in the same rooms that they normally worked in. […] When I looked around the room, I did not think anyone was breaking any Rules or Guidance: on the contrary, I thought that we were all doing our job."

71. Referring specifically to the gathering on 27 November, Mr Johnson wrote that he “briefly” attended the gathering, “made a short speech, and left after approximately 10 minutes”. He added: “I do not believe that anything that I saw in the short period of time that I was at the gathering was contrary to the Rules or Guidance”.