Boris Johnson announces £28.5 billion Australian investment

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The audience members on the BBC flagship show burst into laughter after the Conservative MP Maria Caulfield tried to shield Mr Johnson. An audience member Caroline Quinn asked: “In light of the fixed penalty notices issued this week, has Boris Johnson misled Parliament and should he resign?”

Responding to her question, Ms Caulfield began to speak and said: “I think misleading Parliament, you have to be found guilty of that, it has to be a deliberate misleading…not inadvertently…”

However, she was soon interrupted by the audience who could not stop laughing at the explanation given by Ms Caulfield.

She continued speaking: “I think Boris Johnson has been very clear that there were wrongdoings around the partygate situation.

“He has apologised for that, he has made changes already to Number 10 and can I just say, as someone who did work on Covid wards during the pandemic… no one is more angry about the events that took place in Number 10, because while many of us were working on the wards, we were not having social gatherings after work, so I fully understand the anger, the frustration at what has happened…”

As she went on to say “He [Boris] genuinely did not believe that there were wrongdoings”, the studio audience laughed in disbelief.

The statement comes after Boris Johnson faced a renewed threat to his position over the partygate scandal after the police decision to fine 20 people for lockdown breaches appeared to shatter his claim that COVID-19 rules were followed in No 10.

Mr Johnson has refused to admit to criminality in Downing Street as he was grilled by MPs after fines were issued over the police’s partygate investigation.

The Prime Minister came under pressure, during questions from the Commons liaison committee, to concede that this week’s announcement of 20 fixed penalty notices by the Met Police meant that the law had been broken.

But Mr Johnson stonewalled attempts by the SNP’s Pete Wishart to force him to do so or to admit to any breach of the ministerial code, telling him: “You are just going to have to hold your horses.”

Mr Wishart told the PM: “You can at least accept there has been criminality.
“You do accept it? Twenty fixed penalty notices have been issued, for goodness’ sake. There can’t be any contradiction and doubt about criminality?”

Mr Johnson replied: “I have been, I hope, very frank with the House about where I think we have gone wrong and the things that I regret, and I apologise for, but there is an ongoing investigation.

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“I understand the point you’re making, but… I have been very clear I won’t give running commentary on an ongoing investigation.”

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