Boris Johnson apologised for attending a “bring your own booze” gathering in the garden of No 10 during England’s first lockdown as he battled to save his premiership.
The British prime minister acknowledged the public “rage” over the incident but insisted he thought it could have been technically within the rules.
Mr Johnson told MPs that he attended the May 20th 2020 gathering for around 25 minutes to “thank groups of staff”.
“I believed implicitly that this was a work event,” he said.
But “with hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside, I should have found some other way to thank them, and I should have recognised that – even if it could have been said technically to fall within the guidance – there would be millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way.”
