Boris Johnson has insisted new claims that he breached lockdown rules are “complete nonsense” and that entries from his ministerial diary were “chosen and handed over to the police”.
The former prime minister was grilled by Sky News over allegations he passed through Washington’s Dulles International Airport after a brief visit to the US.
Asked whether he had broken the rules, he told Sky’s US correspondent James Matthews: “This whole thing is total bullshit.
“I think it’s absurd that the entries in my diary should be handpicked and handed over to the police, to the privilege committee, and no one has even basic common sense to ask me what the entries refer to.”
Mr Johnson was referred to police by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday for the events at Checkers and Downing Street after reviewing his official diary as part of the official COVID inquiry.
Asked whether the entries showed him “mingling with friends”, Mr Johnson insisted “that’s definitely not what the diary entries show”.
“I just think it’s completely ridiculous and weird that the prime minister has tens of thousands of entries in his diary. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
“I’ve looked at them. None of them broke the rules during COVID, they weren’t during the lockdown.
“They were during other restrictions. None of them constituted a violation of the rules. None of them involved socializing. It’s total bullshit.”
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Mr Johnson has previously stated that he Think he was the victim of “politically motivated stitching” A government-appointed lawyer to represent him in a public COVID-19 inquiry has been dropped after he was referred by police.
He wouldn’t be drawn to who was “sewing him up” but said: “Someone somewhere thinks it’s wise to do that. I don’t think so.”
However, a Labor source said: “If Boris Johnson is confident that he is behaving properly then he will not have to worry about being scrutinized.”
Mr Johnson has already been fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaching lockdown rules and is currently accepting the fine Investigated by the Privileges Committee About whether he lied to parliament about the Partygate incident which he has repeatedly denied.
On Friday night, the committee confirmed it had received new evidence from the government and had written to Mr Johnson seeking a response.
A spokesman said: “The committee will consider the evidence and Mr Johnson’s response when considering its final report. The committee is moving forward with its investigation expeditiously.”
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The latest developments have once again turned attention to the party-gate controversy, which played a major role in the former prime minister’s downfall.
He was visiting the United States with former President Donald Trump when the news broke on Wednesday.
Johnson ‘talks about Ukraine’ with Trump
Earlier on Friday, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said the purpose of the meeting was to “discuss the situation in Ukraine and the extreme importance of Ukraine’s victory”.
It was not immediately clear where the meeting took place, but Mr Johnson has stopped in both Texas and Las Vegas during his US visit.
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The two leaders have known each other for years and worked together during Trump’s presidency and Johnson’s Downing Street.
Mr Trump spoke highly of Mr Johnson, calling him a “wonderful man” and “my friend” earlier this month.
The two have previously aligned on policy issues such as Brexit, but have also diverged in recent years, notably over Ukraine.
Bilateral meeting between Trump and Johnson during the 2019 G7 summit
Mr Johnson was still prime minister when Russia invaded its southern neighbor last February and was a leader who helped win international support for the Ukrainian people and its military.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump, who has touted his “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has a checkered history with Ukraine, stretching back to before Moscow’s invasion last year.
In September 2019, reports emerged He asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Then-Vice President Joe Biden was expected to run against him in the 2020 presidential election.
The call led to Trump’s first impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — but he was tried in the Senate without conviction.
Earlier this month, in a town hall talk that aired as part of his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump, who is running again as the Republican nominee, declined to say who he thought should win, saying he would win after 24 years. End the war hours.
“I want everyone to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. I’ll do it in 24 hours,” he said.