Boris Johnson says under oath that he did not “lie on purpose” to Parliament

The controversial former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson says, under oath, that he did not intentionally lie to the members of the Parliament of the country when he denied having violated the rigorous rules imposed by his own government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A parliamentary commission is investigating the veracity of statements made by Johnson to Parliament, when he was still prime minister, to comment on his participation in parties promoted in government offices during the lockdown.

On occasion, he categorically affirmed that all the rules of social distancing and limits on the number of people present at the parties had been complied with.

But an investigation of the own government showed, after the speech of the minister, that various parties and social meetings took place on government property, some with the presence of Johnson himself, in the most critical period of lockdown in the country.

Boris admitted earlier this week that he had ended up deceiving Parliament, unintentionally, by making his statements.

He said that it had been based on information from his assessors, at the time, that they would have guaranteed that the rules were being complied with.

But the parliamentary committee raised evidence with former advisers that they denied having had this type of conversation with the then prime minister.

On the contrary, two ex-assessors called to say that they either warned about or discovered the rules.

“From heart”

In his office, in this fourth fair (22), Johnson apologized for having deceived Parliament, but he swore “of his heart” that he did not act deliberately.

The members of the commission asked dozens of questions and insisted very much on one point: in the end, was it not obvious that the festivities were contrary to the rules of the time – that they prevented more than six people from being in the same place and required a distance of meters between the people?

Known for having lied to Rainha Elizabeth 2, in 2019, when she asked for the suspension of Parliament on allegations that were not completely true, Johnson insisted on her line of defense.

And I did it on purpose: according to him, it was obvious that the rules were being broken, so all of you present at each party would not agree to be in them. He says that the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, participated in the festivities.

A talk came to show Boris Johnson a photo of him making a toast during one of these parties, with several people around. Likewise, the business that you were aware of, at the time, that he was breaking his government’s own revenues.

After investigations into the episodes, the London police fined several people present at the events: including Sunak and Johnson.

The ex-primeiro-minister can be suspended or lose his current mandate as Member of Parliament (a kind of federal deputy, in the Brazilian case), if the commission judges that he lied on purpose.

But, since the United Kingdom adopts the district vote in its parliamentary system, a new election would have to be called in the district that it represents (Uxbridge and South Ruislip).

Considered one of the two most popular politicians in the country, it is highly likely that he will be reinstated to the position in the cenário de nova eleição.

The controversial Johnson may end up proving that, sometimes, a lie pays off.