Boris Johnson is due to face a committee of MPs at 14:00 for a grilling on whether he intentionally misled Parliament over lockdown-era parties
He accepts that he misled the Commons but denies he did so on purpose, arguing that he relied on the advice of senior staff
But in new evidence released before Johnson’s questioning, a top civil servant said he never advised the then-PM that gatherings had always followed rules and guidance
Another senior official in No 10 says he advised Johnson not to say that all guidance had always been followed – something Johnson ended up saying anyway in the Commons
The outcome of the investigation could determine his political future, though Johnson accuses the committee – chaired by a Labour MP but with a Tory majority – of being partisan
He published a 52-page defence yesterday – accepting that he misled the Commons but denying he did so on purpose
Details later….