Page:Fifth Report - Matter referred on 21 April 2022 (conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson).pdf/38

 '''and the Rules would not have the belief that Mr Johnson has professed. That is plain from the fact that around the UK during the period of pandemic restrictions these events did not take place.'''

112. '''This point is reinforced by the exposure of the mock Downing Street press conference video which became public in December 2021. When asked about one of the gatherings we have examined, that of 18 December 2020, and more generally whether the Prime Minister would “condone having a Christmas party”, Mr Johnson’s then Press Secretary Allegra Stratton was unable to think of any credible response, and was evidently embarrassed.'''

113. '''Five of the six events we have focussed on had the core purpose of thanking staff who had been working hard, or raising morale following the departure of staff. Mr Johnson, when asked whether he would have condoned gatherings for this purpose in other organisations, declined to say that he would. As we concluded in paragraphs 37 and 65 above, in view of Mr Johnson’s repeated exhortations to the public to follow the Rules and Guidance, indicating the importance he attached to their being taken seriously, we do not believe that, if asked at the time whether unsocially distanced “leaving dos” to maintain staff morale were permitted under the Rules and Guidance, he would have advised the British public that they were.'''

114. In respect of the sixth event, the gathering to celebrate his birthday on 19 June 2020, while we have no reason to think that the meeting that followed this event was anything other than a necessary work meeting, Mr Johnson was unable to provide a convincing reason why this prior gathering was “reasonably necessary for work purposes”.

115. '''With regard to the Guidance, there was no obvious social distancing at any of the events for which the Committee has photographs, and we have direct evidence about the lack of social distancing from witnesses. We have no evidence of substantive mitigations in place in the rooms or areas where the gatherings took place (save the 20 May 2020 gathering in the garden because it was open air). The mitigations described by Mr Johnson do not relate to the activities complained of. At best they are such marginal expedients as not touching pens or passing things to each other, except of course alcohol.'''

116. '''Mr Johnson concedes that social distancing was not possible at these events but maintains the Guidance was complied with “completely”. That is not correct. Mr Johnson refers to social distancing of less than 2 metres as “imperfect” social distancing. This term is not in the Guidance. Without all possible efforts being made to redesign the event, to allow for social distancing of at least 1-metre with substantive mitigations, is non-compliance. This inability to maintain full social distancing would have brought into operation the clause in the Guidance relating to considering whether, in these circumstances, the event should take place at all. We conclude that Mr Johnson’s persistence in putting forward this unsustainable interpretation of the Guidance is both disingenuous and a retrospective contrivance to mislead the House and this Committee.'''

117. We think it highly unlikely on the balance of probabilities that Mr Johnson, in the light of his cumulative direct personal experience of these events, and his familiarity