‘Why should we believe a habitual liar?’: Boris Johnson faces the wrath of Mumsnet readers over Partygate but denies eating cake at ‘miserable’ No10 birthday bash that landed him a police fine – and claims he has ‘changed a lot of nappies recently’
- PM admitted the saga had been a ‘miserable experience’ for the Government
- He did a sit-down interview with parenting website’s founder Justine Roberts
- In a rare lighter moment he revealed he had become ‘very fast’ at nappy changes
Boris Johnson faced the wrath of Mumsnet readers over Partygate today as he was asked why its readers should trust a ‘habitual liar’.
In a sit-down interview with the parenting website’s founder and chief executive Justine Roberts at No10, Mr Johnson admitted that the whole saga had been a ‘miserable experience’ for the Government.
Answering a string of blunt questions submitted by readers the Prime Minister also denied eating any cake at the ‘miserable’ No10 party to celebrate his 56th birthday in June 2020 – an event that saw him fined by police.
In a rare lighter moment the PM also revealed he had become ‘very fast’ at changing nappies when discussing his life as a parent. He and wife Carrie had a son, Wilfred, who is two, and a younger daughter, Romy.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab today claimed that Partygate was a row ‘whipped up’ by the Westminster Bubble. But Ms Roberts said that half of all the questions submitted by Mumsnet readers had been on the subject.
She told the PM the first question was ‘pretty typical and sums up the mood’ of readers, before asking: ‘Why should we believe anything you say when it has been proven you’re a habitual liar?’
Mr Johnson repeated his apology for the events in Downing Street several times, including when told a teacher would have lost their job if they had broken the law and asked why the same did not apply to the Prime Minister.
He replied that he had been ‘very surprised and taken aback to get a £50 fixed-penalty notice (FPN) from the Metropolitan Police, adding: ‘No cake was eaten by me, I can tell you that now.’
In a sit-down interview with the parenting website’s founder and chief executive Justine Roberts at No10, Mr Johnson admitted that the whole saga had been a ‘miserable experience’ for the Government.
Answering a string of blunt questions submitted by readers the Prime Minister also denied eating any cake at the ‘miserable’ No10 party to celebrate his 56th birthday in June 2020 – an event that saw him fined by police.
Sue Gray released pictures of the party in her report on lawbreaking last week
Mr Johnson repeated his apology for the events in Downing Street several times, including when told a teacher would have lost their job if they had broken the law and asked why the same did not apply to the Prime Minister.
‘I’ve changed a lot of nappies – but Carrie does more parenting than me’
Boris Johnson has said he is ‘very fast’ at changing nappies when discussing his life as a parent.
The Prime Minister said his wife Carrie ‘does far more’ than he does when it comes to sharing the workload of parenting their two children.
Mr Johnson made the comments while outlining how he balances being a father to a toddler and a baby while being Prime Minister.
Carrie gave birth to their first child, a son called Wilfred, in 2020, and a daugher, Romy, last year.
Speaking to Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of Mumsnet, Mr Johnson said: ‘I’m doing a lot at the moment Justine, and I’m saying that without any fear of inhibition or fear of contradiction.
‘I can tell you I’ve changed a lot of nappies recently. I’m very fast by the way.’
He added that his favourite books to read to his son were Dr Seuss books, and then began quoting The Cat In The Hat Comes Back.
‘This was no time for play, this was no time for fun, this was no time for games, there was work to be done, which is our motto in Number 10. There’s work to be done,’ he said.
He addedt: ‘I think the more you put in, the more you get out. Carrie obviously does more than I do, I’m not going to conceal that fact from you. She does far, far more than I do.
‘But I think if you really sat her down and interrogated her, she would admit I do quite a lot too.’
The Prime Minister received only one fixed penalty notice (FPN) from police investigating lockdown-busting parties at the heart of Government, for attending his own birthday bash in the Cabinet Room in June 2020, when indoor mixing was banned.
Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns famously described the Conservative Party leader as having been ‘ambushed with a cake’ at the event.
The Conservatives were embroiled in a deepening row over Boris Johnson’s leadership today as the number of MPs going public with criticism rose.
Almost 50 Conservative backbenchers have questioned the PM’s behaviour in public over the ‘Partygate’ scandal, while some have held talks over a possible replacement.
Mr Johnson is said to be ringing around wavering backbenchers personally to try to shore up his position.
Under party rules, 54 have to submit letters of no confidence in him to trigger a vote on his leadership – though it is not clear if all critics have taken that step.
Former Cabinet minister and leadership challenger Dame Andrea Leadsom yesterday joined the trickle of Tories who have broken cover to criticise Mr Johnson over the No10 parties.
She plunged the knife in as John Stevenson became the latest Tory MP to write a letter demanding the Prime Minister face a confidence vote.
It came as the PM’s ethics tsar Lord Geidt said there was a ‘legitimate question’ about whether his Partygate fine represented a breach of the ministerial code after senior civil servant Sue Gray released a report into her findings.
But today the PM’s allies lashed out, insisting that his position was safe and questioning whether any of those mooted as possible alternatives were up to the job.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that they might not be ‘a positive asset to the country, compared to what you’ve got at the moment’.
Asked about a leadership election, he added: ‘During that time there will be complete stasis of leadership of this country at a time when we are in a really serious situation with the cost-of-living crisis, with potentially rail strikes.
‘And the other problem is, who would you have? There will be at least five or six candidates that would put in for the job. Somebody will emerge, but there’ll be a lot of colleagues who haven’t voted for that particular candidate.
‘That candidate will then have the job of reuniting the party, trying to deal with all the problems that the country faces. And I think at the moment for me, we should leave matters as they are.’
And Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said he does not believe there will be a vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson next week, as predicted.
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