Introduction

The purpose of this inquiry is not to reopen so-called party gate. It is to discover whether or not I lied to Parliament, wittingly misled colleagues and the country about those gatherings. When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time. This hearing wasn't another party gate investigation. We already know parties happened at number 10 during lockdown. Suitcases of booze being wheeled into Downing Street. Reckless behaviour at the heart of government by those who'd imposed strict rules on the rest of the country. More than 80 people received fines, including the current and then prime ministers. Some of those individuals even