EThe meeting room in the new wing of the House of Commons is the scene of Boris Johnson’s most sensitive appearance. It is certainly smaller than the Cabinet Room at No Downing Street, his seat of government. 10, in which one of those lockdown parties is said to have taken place, for which he now has to visit this room. Here Johnson has to provide information as to whether his assurances that all Corona rules had been observed were a deliberate misleading of Parliament or not.
The chair of the seven-member committee of inquiry, which monitors violations of parliamentary privileges, makes it clear right from the start that these proceedings are not about the usual political confrontation between the ruling party and the opposition. It’s about whether a member of the government violated the common dignity of parliament. Harriet Harman is the longest-serving MP in the House of Commons, having served since 1982. From 2007 to 2015 she was Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, of which she was acting twice.
Harman makes it clear to the witness Johnson that he cannot trust that the majority of the four Conservative MPs will question him more leniently than the three Labor MPs. “We leave our party interests at the door of this briefing room,” Harman asserts, trying to create a common stance toward the witness. After all, it’s about finding out whether he deliberately lied to the entire Parliament.
A place where no good will is shown to him
Johnson could have read from Chairman Harman’s reservedness that he was not well-respected in this place. Nevertheless, he is doing a test before making his introductory statement: In a few minutes, the survey will have to be interrupted for a plenary vote, Johnson says, whether he can wait before beginning his presentation. “We are a working parliament,” replies Harman without a smile, “just get started.”
The secretary of the committee brings the Bible to the witness Johnson, who swears to “tell the truth, so help me God.” Footage will then be shown: video clips of Johnson’s appearances in the House of Commons in December 2021, in which he asserts that all rules and recommendations on Covid restrictions have always been followed at government headquarters, and the photos of the farewell parties for employees who circle the head of the house by half a dozen employees.
Johnson does not want to accept that the photos provide evidence that the corona distance rules have not been observed. Thanking employees kept the morale up during these tough, busy times, and he mostly “dropped in” on these occasions to “say a few words.” It was necessary “to keep the ship stable,” says Johnson, “that was what I saw as my job.”
After a while, questions and answers go round in circles. “I accept the fact that the social distancing rules have not been fully complied with,” Johnson says, repeating that in those hectic times every effort was made to manage the pandemic. The impression remains that those living at No. Downing Street 10 who developed rules and restrictions to contain the pandemic, did not always conclude that they also apply in their workplace.
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