Boris Johnson set to apologise to MPs later today

Boris Johnson set to apologise to MPs later today

Boris Johnson is set to apologise for breaking lockdown laws in his first statement to MPs since being fined by police.

The prime minister is expected to say he did not knowingly break the rules at a birthday party held at No 10 in June 2020.

The PM stands accused of lying to Parliament after he previously told them no rules had been broken.

Mr Johnson has vowed to “set the record straight” when he speaks to MPs at about 3.30 pm today (19 April).

He is also expected to urge MPs to focus instead on issues such as rising prices and the war in Ukraine.

Speaking on ITV, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “He’s not just broken the rules, he’s lied to the public and he’s lied to Parliament about it”.

He also accused the PM of using the conflict in Ukraine as a “shield” to keep his job, adding that he finds such a tactic “pretty offensive”.

Sir Keir predicted: “He will try an apology, and he will immediately then go into excuses.”

Labour and the other opposition parties will be searching for ways to hold the prime minister to account, such as a censure motion or a vote of no confidence.

Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said the government’s majority in the Commons meant Labour was relying on Tory MPs to vote “the right way”.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is expected to decide around lunchtime if and what vote should take place on measures against the prime minister.

Mr Johnson became the first serving UK prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law when he, along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was fined last week for attending the birthday event held for him in the Cabinet Room.