Mr Johnson’s argument that no-one raised any concerns with him
103. Mr Johnson argues that a proof of his honest belief that Rules and Guidance were followed in No. 10 was that no one raised any concerns with him. He told us in oral evidence that, while he does not “remember being specifically assured by any senior civil servant about the rules or the guidance within No. 10, […] the interesting thing is that, to the contrary, nobody gave me any contrary advice”.[1] He also said, “in all the cases that you mention nobody came to me and said, ‘We’ve got a problem with this one. You need to worry about this’”.[2]
104. In response to this “argument from silence”, we note that:
- One senior official, Mr Johnson’s Principal Private Secretary, Martin Reynolds, did in fact question directly with Mr Johnson whether the Guidance had been followed at all times (see paragraph 147 below–though Mr Reynolds also maintained in his written evidence that he believed and still believes the events were within the Rules);[3]
- Other No. 10 staff, including some of Mr Johnson’s most senior advisers, expressed concerns–albeit not directly to Mr Johnson–either at the time of the gatherings, or when the gatherings came to public attention, that they appeared prima facie breaches of the Rules or Guidance:
- Lee Cain told us in evidence that he saw the tone of the email invitation for the gathering of 20 May 2020 as “clearly social and in breach of covid guidance” (see paragraph 25 above);
- We have evidence of WhatsApp messages sent by Jack Doyle in January 2022 stating he was “struggling to come up with a way” the gathering of 19 June 2020 was “in the rules” (see paragraph 47 above);
- A junior official also told us in evidence that they felt it was clear that Rules and Guidance were not being followed in Downing Street, stating: “No. 10, despite setting the rules to the country, was slow to enforce any rules in the building. The press office Wine Time Fridays continued throughout, social distancing was not enforced […] This was all part of a wider culture of not adhering to any rules. No 10 was like an island oasis of normality”.[4]
105. Mr Johnson also, of course, had personal knowledge of the gatherings (see paragraphs 23–94 above), as well as a particular responsibility in his role as Prime Minister to ensure he understood the Rules and Guidance his Government was directing the country to follow–not to rely on others to provide unsolicited advice.
106. Mr Johnson also argued that:
If it was obvious to me that these events were contrary to the guidance and the rules, it must have been equally obvious to dozens of others, including
- ↑ Q107
- ↑ Q89
- ↑ Core evidence bundle materials, p94 and p103
- ↑ Additional evidence materials, p9
