The minister says Boris Johnson had not deliberately attempted to mislead on whether lockdown rules were broken.
Image source, PA Media
Boris Johnson was given the “wrong information” over whether parties were held in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.
The minister told LBC the PM had not deliberately misled MPs when he said all guidance had been followed.
The police have started issuing fines as parts of its investigation into rule-breaking in and around Downing Street during the pandemic.
No 10 says Mr Johnson has not so far received a fine.
Sources have confirmed to the BBC that fines have been sent to people who attended a Downing Street party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.
The leaving party is one of 12 events being looked into by the police. Mr Johnson is believed to have attended at least three of the gatherings under investigation.
In December 2021, Mr Johnson told MPs that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10”.
Asked if the prime minister had misled Parliament, Mr Rees-Mogg told a caller on LBC: “The fact that the prime minister was given wrong information doesn’t mean he misled people.
“The prime minister said he was told the rules were followed but that turns out not to be correct.
“If the prime minister is told information that is incorrect and passes that information on he has made no deliberate attempt to mislead anybody.”
The minister for Brexit opportunities also defended describing the row as “fluff”, arguing that it was “not the most important issue in the world” given the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
He also said the public inquiry into Covid should look into whether the lockdown rules were “proportionate” and suggested some rules were “inhumane”.
Last week, Downing Street insisted the prime minister had not misled the House of Commons.
A spokesman said “at all times he has set out his understanding of events”.
Elsewhere, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart told Talk Radio that the parties were “a source of irritation for people” but that “the world has moved on a considerable distance”.
Responding to his remarks, Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said: “These comments are an insult to every family that suffered in lockdown while Downing Street partied.
“Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have got something else coming if they think the public has moved on from this shameful scandal.”
Image source, Reuters
The police launched their investigation after receiving information from an internal inquiry run by senior civil servant Sue Gray.
Last week, the police confirmed 20 fines for rule-breaking had been issued and added that more could follow.
The emails to those fined say: “It has been assessed that there are reasonable grounds to believe you committed an offence in contravention of the Regulations… you are being reported for issuance of a fixed penalty notice, offering you the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty.”
The penalties have so far been issued to those who attended a leaving party for former No 10 communications chief James Slack. He has since apologised for the party taking place.
The party was held on the night before Prince Philip’s funeral, when the Queen sat alone due to coronavirus restrictions.
Downing Street apologised to Buckingham Palace after the event was first reported.
The Daily Telegraph has also reported that the former director of ethics in the Cabinet Office, Helen MacNamara, was fined in connection with a leaving party the year before – in June 2020.
Ms MacNamara has declined to comment.