It was uncomfortable, awkward and at times terse as the former prime minister underwent over three-and-a-half hours of hostile cross-examination from MPs.
Did Boris Johnson intentionally mislead parliament about what he knew - and when - about rule-breaking events in Number 10? The privileges committee maintains it is"very likely" he did.was billed as the day of reckoning for the former prime minister, with all the jeopardy that it brought. Instead, after months of gathering evidence and testimony from witnesses, there was no smoking gun.
At the heart of his defence was the argument that while guidance was at times broken, in the round, officials tried to stick to the principles, even when social distancing wasn't"complied with perfectly", and that he relied on advice of his officials. And what of the"BYOB" - Bring Your Own Booze - Number 10 garden party in May 2020? Again, Mr Johnson was adamant this was a work event to thank staff . Why then was Lee Cain, his then director of communications, concerned about the"optics, not about the rules"?
It might not pass the"head-over-the-garden-wall" test, but in Mr Johnson's version of life at Number 10, unsocially distanced farewell gatherings were allowed at work - a memo the rest of the country failed to receive.
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