Boris Johnson has claimed that he made a “catastrophic” mistake by apologising for partygate.
The former Prime Minister, who received a fine alongside then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak during the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Hillman investigation, was forced out of No10 after support tumbled following the revelations.
Writing for the Daily Mail ahead of the release of his tell-all memoir ‘Unleashed’, Johnson said: “Without belabouring this weary business, I think I made several catastrophic mistakes in the handling of the story.
“I should have been far more robust at the outset. I tried to defuse public anger by a series of rather pathetic apologies, even when I knew zero about the events for which I was apologising.”
Boris Johnson quit as Prime Minister following a Cabinet cabal in the summer of 2022PAJohnson described the decision to oust him as an “unfair witch-hunt”, adding: “My grovelling just made people even angrier – and made it look as though we were far more culpable than we were.”
He also claimed: “I should not have sanctioned a ridiculous and unfair witch-hunt led by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, who was to become – unbelievably – chief of staff to Keir Starmer, and whose evidence collation was overseen by a Labour-supporting QC who had publicly called on Twitter for me to be removed from office.
“I should simply have asked anyone with evidence of wrongdoing to go to the police.”
Gray’s partygate report covered 16 events between May 2020 and April 2021, including almost 500-words dedicated to the cake-eating incident that Johnson was fined for.
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Former civil servant and partygate investigator Sue Gray became Starmer’s Chief of Staff
PA
The former civil servant’s position in No10 is becoming more and more precarious after a row reportedly broke out with Starmer’s right-hand man Morgan McSweeney.
It was also revealed that Gray was earning more money than the Prime Minister, raking in around £170,000 per year.
Despite Johnson being ousted, the former Prime Minister’s allies argue that the Tory Party would not have suffered as catastrophic a defeat as it later did on July 4.
A former insider told GB News: “If Boris was still around, Farage wouldn’t be doing this and I’m sure he wouldn’t be getting these crowds.”
“I don’t know why we did it,” a senior ex-Cabinet Minister claimed.
Boris Johnson’s ousting is used as an excuse from senior Tories for their massive defeat at the general election
PA
Another former Cabinet Minister added: “It’s clear now we should have stuck with Boris.”
A Johnson ally also told GB News: “I would be surprised if there are many Conservative MPs who can look in the mirror this morning and say ‘we are in a much better place than we were when Boris was Prime Minister’.”
Opinion polls conducted ahead of the election suggested that Johnson was chasing a Labour lead still in the single-digits, while Sunak was facing a mountainous task of Starmer streaking ahead by more than 20-points.
The result handed Labour a lead of just 10 per cent, slightly higher than the lead Starmer opened up when Johnson was forced out following a Cabinet cabal.
A recent survey by More in Common also revealed Johnson was the public’s most popular or previously most popular politician, beating Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.