In the wake of last night’s accusation from Dominic Cummings – that Boris gave the go-ahead for the 20th May drinks party – Raab had the task of defending No.10 today in the aftermath. Just when Tory MPs were beginning to hope the weekend had marked a turning point on this…
After himself accidentally referring to the 20th May gathering as a “party” on Sky News, Raab then appeared on Today to explain whether the PM would have to resign if it was clear he’d misled the House:
“it would normally, if it’s not corrected…if it’s lying and deliberate in the way that you describe […] it would normally under the Ministerial Code and the governance around Parliament be a resigning matter. That is the principle…”
Pressed on why he used the word “normally“, Raab added:
“Because I don’t have the rules in front of me to quote you verbatim. And forgive me as a lawyer, but I like to be accurate about this […] people in public office are meant to hold the highest standards, and I think it’s absolutely right.”
For now, it’s Cummings’s word against Boris’s. Sue Gray, over to you…
