Dominic Raab slams Cummings’ ‘nonsense’ claims the PM LIED to Parliament

Rishi Sunak today abruptly walked off camera when he was asked if he ‘unequivocally’ backs Boris Johnson –  as ministers desperately tried to defuse explosive claims from Dominic Cummings that the PM lied to Parliament over Partygate.

The Chancellor fuelled speculation about his unhappiness as an aide intervened and he stalked out of an interview while being grilled about the Partygate furore.

Pushed on whether he believed the premier’s denials that he knew a ‘BYOB’ gathering in Downing Street in May 2020 was a social event, Mr Sunak said: ‘Of course I do.’

But he merely ‘referred’ people to Mr Johnson’s own words when pressed on the details, and challenged on whether Mr Johnson would have to quit if he knowingly misled parliament he said: ‘The ministerial code is clear on these matters.’  

Mr Johnson has been warned he must prove he is ‘house trained’ after his former chief aide launched another vicious attack – saying he is ready to swear on oath that Mr Johnson was warned a drinks bash at No10 in May 2020 should not go ahead. 

The claim contradicts the premier’s statement to the House of Commons last Wednesday, when he insisted he believed ‘implicitly’ that the gathering was a work event. 

For the second week running Downing Street has insisted that there was no discussion of the Partygate row at the regular Cabinet meeting this morning. 

Mr Sunak said in his clip: ‘The Prime Minister set out his understanding of this matter last week in Parliament. I refer you to his words.

‘Sue Gray is conducting an inquiry into this matter and I fully support the Prime Minister’s requests for patience while that concludes.’

Asked if the Prime Minister should resign if he lied to Parliament, Mr Sunak said: ‘I am not going to get into hypotheticals, the ministerial code is clear on these matters.’

In a round of interviews earlier, Mr Johnson’s deputy Dominic Raab branded the latest allegations from Mr Cummings ‘nonsense’. He insisted he is ‘confident’ the PM had been ‘straightforward’ with the Commons, and urged people to wait for the results of the probe by top civil servant Sue Gray.

Pushed on whether Mr Johnson should resign if he had ‘knowingly misled’ MPs, Mr Raab told BBC Breakfast: ‘I think the ministerial code should be followed at all times.’

Asked again if a minister must resign if they lie to Parliament and fail to correct themselves, Mr Raab said: ‘Yes.’

However, on Mr Johnson’s future Mr Raab said: ‘I’m confident he will carry on for many years and into the next election.’ He told Times Radio: ‘The suggestion that he lied is nonsense.’

Tory ex-leader Lord Hague ridiculed Mr Johnson as the ‘Prime Spaniel’ in a column today, saying he must show he is ‘fully house-trained’ to save himself. He cautioned that the premier would be in a ‘lonely category of his own’ if he is ousted from power over ‘standards of probity’.   

‘There will be a temptation to make ‘Operation Save Big Dog’ about sacking some staff and reannouncing some policies,’ the peer wrote in the Times. ‘A respected culture of disciplined teamwork, however, starts with the Prime Spaniel showing he is fully house-trained and leading the whole kennels. 

‘We are about to discover whether Johnson is able to do that, and be quick enough about it to remain in power.’

Unrest on the Conservative benches is ramping up after a shock poll laid bare the damage being done by the scandal, putting Labour 13 points ahead.  

‘As far as they are concerned it looks like one rule for us and another for everyone else.’ 

Two of Mr Johnson’s ministers have added their voices to criticism, bemoaning the impact on public trust in the government.

Science minister George Freeman said he was ‘shocked and flabbergasted’ by the revelations, and questioned why staff were able to enjoy such gatherings while his constituents ‘couldn’t see dying loved ones’.

Similarly, health minister Maria Caulfield insisted that regardless of whether the rules were ‘technically’ breached or not by the parties, ‘the spirit of the rules’ was. She added that she would ‘consider what action is needed’ when Ms Gray’s report into the events is published. 

Former minister Desmond Swayne warned that the investigation by Ms Gray cannot be a ‘get out of jail free card’ by focusing on the precise legal definition of lockdown breaches.   

‘If this does indeed turn out to be the Monopoly ‘get out of jail free card’, I fear it just won’t wash because the distinction between regulation and guidance was never clear in the minds of the public in the first place,’ Sir Desmond said.

The row escalated again after Mr Cummings suggested in a post on his Substack blog yesterday that worse might still be to come for No10.

‘Amid discussion over the future of the Cabinet Secretary (Simon Case) and PPS (Reynolds) himself, which had been going on for days, I said to the PM something like: ”Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse”,’ he wrote.

‘The PM waved it aside. I had told him repeatedly the PPS should be replaced, as had other competent officials who knew the whole structure needed a huge upgrade in personnel and management.’ 

He added: ‘Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened.’ 

Downing Street has denied the claims, with a spokesman saying: ‘It is untrue that 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.’

A survey by Redfield and Wilton Strategies conducted yesterday showed Labour on 43 per cent, up four in a week, while the Tories were on 30 per cent, down five.

At the same time Mr Cummings, who was ousted in late 2020 after losing a Downing Street power struggle, sent an ominous warning to the PM that there could be more trouble to come.

He wrote: ‘There are many other photos of parties after I left yet to appear. I’ll say more when SG’s report is published.’

Mr Johnson was forced to apologise last week after it emerged his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 members of staff to a ‘bring your own booze’ bash in the No 10 garden in May 2020 during the first lockdown.

The PM admitted he attended for 25 minutes to ‘thank’ staff, but argued he believed it was a work event and could ‘technically’ have been within the rules.

There were claims aides used a suitcase on wheels to go out and pick up booze for the gathering from a nearby shop. 

The PM is now believed to have been grilled by top civil servant Sue Gray, who could deliver her report on the bewildering array of allegations about lockdown breaches in Whitehall within days – although it might not come until next week.

The government has been mobilising a huge effort to rescue Mr Johnson, with crowd-pleasing announcements on bringing in the military to tackle the Channel migrant crisis and reforming the BBC.

There is also speculation that he is ready to jettison some of his most senior aides and ban alcohol in Downing Street in order to shore up his premiership. 

Asked if the Prime Minister should resign if he misled Parliament, Mr Raab told Sky News: ‘I’m not going to speculate on hypotheticals. I’m confident he’s been straightforward with the House of Commons.’

Pressed about Mr Cummings’ claims, Mr Raab said: ‘The PM has been very clear that that’s not true or accurate.’

Mr Raab also briefly got tangled up as he denied that the ‘BYOB’ bash was held to thank him for filling in while the PM was ill with Covid.

‘There was speculation that the May 20 party was held in my honour to thank me, it’s just ridiculous,’ he said.

Presenter Kay Burley broke in to say: ‘So it was a party!’ 

But Mr Raab hastily corrected himself insisting ‘no, no, no’. ‘This is the claim that was made, it was nonsense, I wasn’t invited and I didn’t attend,’ he said.

MPs have returned from their constituencies reporting a beasting from voters on the doorstep and in mailbags. 

Writing on his blog, Sir Desmond said he had received ‘huge correspondence’ on the issue. He pointed out he voted against most of the regulations.  

‘The principal difficulty was confusion between what was regulation and what was only guidance. This even confused police officers, with people being told to stop doing things which, in fact, they were entitled to do,’ he wrote.

‘I rather think that Sue Gray’s inquiry into parties in Downing Street will focus on this distinction between regulation and guidance and, in particular, the fact that Number 10 is a place of work and not a dwelling, where the rules were quite different.

If this does indeed turn out to be the Monopoly ‘get out of jail free card’, I fear it just won’t wash because the distinction between regulation and guidance was never clear in the minds of the public in the first place.

‘As far as they are concerned it looks like one rule for us and another for everyone else.

Sir Desmond also warned: ‘A significant danger for the PM, were he to be exonerated by Sue Gray’s inquiry, is that some new allegation then hits the headlines.’

One Northern MP told MailOnline yesterday that the response from voters was ‘terrible’, and even worse than during the notorious Barnard Castle row involving Dominic Cummings.

‘It’s worse because he was breaking the rules that he himself made and told everyone to obey. He can relaunch, hide behind reports, do what he wants. The public have made their minds up,’ the Tory MP said. 

Another said they were getting grief from ‘a good number of Tories and just ordinary people who don’t say their politics but feel compelled to write to say they want Boris to resign’. However, they voiced hope that the focus might finally be starting to shift to other stories.

In the latest Partygate allegations, it emerged that Mr Johnson attended a leaving do for defence adviser Captain Steve Higham before Christmas 2020, where he gave a speech.

The PM’s spokesman has also been forced to deny extraordinary claims that Mr Johnson and his staff refer to him as ‘big dog’. 

Long-standing Downing Street drinking culture saw people start boozing at lunchtime and ‘wake up in their clothes’ after crashing on sofas, says former aide summarily sacked by Dominic Cummings

Downing Street could start boozing at lunch and wake up in the same clothes after crashing on sofas as part of a long-standing drinking culture, a former aide claimed today.

Sonia Khan highlighted the historic behaviour at the heart of Government amid signs Boris Johnson is considering imposing an alcohol ban to quell rising anger about Partygate.

Ms Khan worked in No10 and the Treasury during the premierships of David Cameron and Theresa May before being summarily sacked in a row with Dominic Cummings after Boris Johnson came to power but before the pandemic – later settling an unfair dismissal claim.

In an interview, she said drinking had long been ‘normalised’ in Downing Street.

But she argued that the previous culture was ‘totally different’ to the allegations of partying while the public was ordered to abide by restrictions to tackle coronavirus.

Mr Johnson was forced to apologise last week after it emerged his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, invited more than 100 members of staff to a ‘bring your own booze’ party in the No 10 garden in May 2020 during the first lockdown.

The PM admitted he attended but argued he believed it was a work event that could ‘technically’ have been within the rules.

There were claims aides used a suitcase on wheels to go out and pick up booze for the gathering from a nearby shop.  

Ms Khan told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: ‘Usually these drinking sessions are sandwiched between pieces of work, so it feels like a very, very routine thing. 

‘Drinks could start at lunch time, they could start a little bit later in the day – different teams do things very differently – but the idea of mini fridges or having drinks underneath your table wasn’t uncommon.’

Ms Khan said ‘senior people at No 10’ going back two decades had used drinks as a way of thanking staff for working ‘very, very long hours’.

Asked if people had been so hungover they had slept on sofas in Downing Street, she said: ‘I did see a few instances of that – people waking up in the same clothes the next day.

‘But obviously I didn’t work during a pandemic and it didn’t happen very often back then, I should say. I can’t speak for what it’s like now.’

Ms Khan said: ‘Drinks in No 10 … feel like such a normalised thing so it doesn’t feel like anything out of the ordinary.

‘Now in a pandemic that’s totally different and you can absolutely say that people should’ve had the oversight, given that they are all so smart and intelligent.’

Ms Khan worked as a civil servant in No 10 under Mr Cameron, before working in the Treasury as a special adviser during Mrs May’s leadership.

She briefly remained in the Treasury after Mr Johnson took over, but was marched out of Downing Street by armed police after being sacked by Dominic Cummings in August 2019 over allegations of leaking.

She later settled a claim against the Government for unfair dismissal.

Mr Cummings hit back on Twitter today insisting there was no drinking culture at No10 in May 2020, and accusing Ms Khan of being a ‘useful idiot’ helping shore up Mr Johnson’s position. 

Meanwhile, Tories have warned Boris Johnson his ‘Operation Red Meat’ policy blitz might not be enough to save his bacon as even ministers hesitated about saying he is ‘safe’.

The PM is now believed to have been grilled by top civil servant Sue Gray, who could deliver her report on the bewildering array of allegations about lockdown breaches in Whitehall within days.

The government has been gearing up for a huge effort to rescue Mr Johnson, with crowd-pleasing announcements on bringing in the military to tackle the Channel migrant crisis and reforming the BBC.

There is also speculation that he is ready to jettison some of his most senior aides and ban alcohol in Downing Street in order to shore up his premiership. 

In a round of interviews this morning, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi insisted Mr Johnson ‘feels the pain’ of the public at the apparent flouting of the restrictions the country was living under.

He argued that Mr Johnson was ‘human’ and had apologised for his ‘mistake’ in attending a social event on May 2020. But Mr Zahawi had to be asked three times on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme before saying the premier was ‘safe’ in his job.

And MPs have returned from their constituencies reporting a beasting from voters on the doorstep and in mailbags. One Northern MP told MailOnline that the response was ‘terrible’, and even worse than during the notorious Barnard Castle row involving Mr Cummings.

‘It’s worse because he was breaking the rules that he himself made and told everyone to obey. He can relaunch, hide behind reports, do what he wants. The public have made their minds up,’ the Tory MP said.

Another said they were getting grief from ‘a good number of Tories and just ordinary people who don’t say their politics but feel compelled to write to say they want Boris to resign’. However, they voiced hope that the focus might finally be starting to shift to other stories.