Boris Johnson has said he regrets issuing “pathetic” and “grovelling” apologies for Partygate when prime minister.
Johnson, who left Downing Street under the cloud of scandal in 2022, also refused to say whether he regrets apologising to the Queen for the Downing Street parties held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.
“Partygate” refers the political scandal around gatherings of Downing Street and Conservative Party officials during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his newly released memoir, Unleashed, the former prime minister says that he made a “mistake” issuing “pathetic” and “grovelling” apologies over the scandal.
The apologies, he argues, “made it look as though we were far more culpable than we were.”
Speaking to ITV News for a special programme, Boris Johnson: The Interview, the former prime minister was asked about the extract and whether he also regretted apologising to the late Queen.
Johnson refused to answer, replying: “I don’t discuss my conversations with the Queen.”
Pressed further, the former prime minister continued: “What I was trying to say there was, I think that the blanket apology — the sort of apology I issued right at the beginning — I think the trouble with it was that afterwards, all the accusations that then rained down on officials who’d been working very hard in Number 10 and elsewhere were thought to be true.
“And by apologising I had sort of inadvertently validated the entire corpus and it wasn’t fair on those people.”
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In his first major TV interview on his time in office since being forced to step down as prime minister, Johnson also acknowledged the political chaos that ensued after Brexit.
He told ITV News he was surprised when David Cameron quit as prime minister after the nation voted to leave the European Union, criticising him for not having a plan.
The former PM said: “What we expected and what I think, you know, everybody expected was that the Cameron government having called a referendum a ‘yes’, ‘no’ choice for the people — a leave, remain choice for the people — would bring forward a white paper.”
He added: “Every other European leader when their whole referendum decides, you know, once the people have voted, decides what to do and stays in office”.
“So, it’s not normal for the prime minister having asked for a referendum vote suddenly to evacuate the stage.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
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