BORIS Johnson’s deputy accidentally admitted there was a “party” at No 10 as he tried to rubbish claims the Prime Minister broke his own Covid rules.
Dominic Raab referred to the infamous Downing Street gathering on May 20, 2020, as a “party” during a car crash interview with Sky News.
The Deputy Prime Minister was forced to quickly backtrack in an embarrassing blunder during the morning media rounds.
Although Raab insisted the Prime Minister has been “straightforward” with MPs, he suggested his boss should quit if he is found to have misled Parliament and fails to correct his remarks.
It comes after Dominic Cummings claimed he told Johnson that the May 20 event was a party, but that his warning was ignored.
The PM’s former aide said he would be willing to swear "under oath" that the Tory leader lied to Parliament after he told MPs he thought the “bring your own booze” event was a work meeting.
Speaking to Sky’s Kay Burley, Raab denied he was aware of a drinking culture on Downing Street, but added: “People were working extremely long hours, so it doesn’t surprise me if people, as you see in other walks of life, had a glass of wine or beer at the end of a very long week.”
The Justice Secretary continued: “There was speculation that the May 20 party was held in my honour to thank me, it’s just ridiculous.”
Burley interjected: “So it was a party”, prompting Raab to backtrack.
“No, exactly, er, no, er, the, no no no no,” the Deputy PM replied. “This is the claim that was made, it was nonsense, I wasn’t invited and I didn’t attend.”
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Pressed about Cummings’ claims, Raab said: “The PM has been very clear that that’s not true or accurate.”
The Justice Secretary was also questioned on BBC Breakfast.
Asked about the ministerial code stating that those “who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister”, Raab told the show: “I think the ministerial code should be followed at all time.”
Pressed if a minister should resign if they lie to Parliament and fail to correct themselves, the minister replied: “Yes.”
And quizzed about how safe Johnson is as leader, Raab said: “I’m confident he will carry on for many years and into the next election.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that deliberately lying to Parliament would “normally” be a resigning matter.
“If it’s lying, deliberate in the way you describe, if it’s not corrected immediately, it would normally, under the Ministerial Code and the governance around Parliament, be a resigning matter,” Raab conceded.
Downing Street has dismissed Cummings’ allegations against the Prime Minister.
A spokesman said: “It is untrue the Prime Minister was warned about the event in advance. As he said earlier this week, he believed implicitly that this was a work event.
“He has apologised to the House and is committed to making a further statement once the investigation concludes.”
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