Sunak breaks cover to say ‘of course’ he believes PM in Downing Street parties saga
Rishi Sunak has made a public appearance for the first time in a week to say “of course” he believes Boris Johnson’s claims that he thought lockdown-busting Downing Street parties were work events.
Sunak said Johnson “has set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week” and refused to say whether he unequivocally supported the Prime Minister in another lukewarm defence of his boss.
Sunak has been noticeably hesitant to give full-throated support to the Prime Minister since he last week all but admitted he attended a lockdown-breaking party on 20 May 2020.
Johnson still maintains he thought the boozy event was for work purposes, however his former chief aide Dominic Cummings last night said the Prime Minister definitely knew it was a party.
The chancellor broke cover today for an interview with Sky news.
When asked if he believes the Prime Minister’s side of the story on the parties saga, Sunak said: “Of course I do. The Prime Minister has set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week and I’d refer you to his words.”
When asked about Cummings’ claim, Sunak said: “I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. The ministerial code is clear on these matters. As you know Sue Gray is conducting an inquiry I think it’s right we allow her to conclude the job.”
Cummings claimed on Twitter last night that Johnson was warned the lockdown-busting party on 20 May 2020 should not go ahead, but that he ignored the advice.
If true, this would mean Johnson knowingly mislead parliament – an offence that usually leads to resignations.
Writing on his Substack blog, Cummings said: “Not only me, but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time, would swear under oath this is what happened.”