Boris Johnson tells ITV News he regrets apologising for Partygate

By Lewis Denison and Elisa Menendez

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said he regrets apologising over his government's lockdown parties in Downing Street.

In an exclusive interview with ITV News, Mr Johnson also refused to say whether he regrets apologising to the Queen for parties held on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, when pressed three times by Presenter Tom Bradby.

In Mr Johnson's first major TV interview on his time in office since being forced to step down as prime minister, he discussed his handling of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the infamous Partygate scandal which contributed to his political downfall.

The former prime minister says in his newly released memoir, Unleashed, that he made a "mistake" issuing "pathetic" and "grovelling" apologies over Partygate that he said "made it look as though we were far more culpable than we were".

Questioning Mr Johnson about an extract discussing his handling of Partygate in the book, Bradby asks: "You basically say it wasn't a big deal. I regret apologising. Is that really your position?"

"Did you regret apologising to the Queen?"

Mr Johnson refuses to answer and replies: "I don't discuss my conversations with the Queen."

'Do you regret apologising to the Queen?'

Pressed further, the former prime minister continued: "What I was trying to say there was, I think that the blanket apology - the sort of apology I issued right at the beginning - I think the trouble with it was that afterwards, all the accusations that then rained down on officials who'd been working very hard in Number 10 and elsewhere were thought to be true.

"And by apologising I had sort of inadvertently validated the entire corpus and it wasn't fair on those people."

Bradby pointed to an email, leaked by ITV News, sent by Mr Johnson's then private secretary, Martin Reynolds, to more than 100 people inviting them to a drinks party in the Number 10 garden during the height of lockdown to "make the most of the lovely weather".

"The reason the Downing Street garden was used was because it was thought to be a much safer environment and we had to maintain distancing," he replied.

"That was outside," said Mr Johnson. "I really, really don't think that those officials thought that they were setting out to break the rules... They were working round the clock."

When put to him that he isn't sorry at all for Partygate, Mr Johnson said: "I obviously bitterly regret mistakes that I made, but what I was trying to say is that by a blanket apology at the outset, I seem to inculpate everybody for every accusation... that was subsequently made."

Taking a swipe at Sue Gray, a senior civil servant tasked with investigating Covid law breaches, Mr Johnson added: "And they were made by the way by somebody who's now, what is she? I remember, chief of staff for the leader of the Labour Party."

Mr Johnson also acknowledged the chaos that ensued after Brexit, for which he blamed his predecessors David Cameron and Theresa May among others in his book.

'It's not normal for the prime minister having asked for a referendum vote suddenly to evacuate the stage'

Mr Johnson said he was surprised Mr Cameron quit when the nation voted to leave the EU and criticised him for not having a plan.

The former PM said: "What we expected and what I think, you know, everybody expected was that the Cameron Government having called a referendum a "yes", "no" choice for the people - a leave, remain choice for the people - would bring forward a white paper."

Bradby interjects: "Why? He didn't believe it - what made you possibly think that would be?"

"Because every other European leader when their whole referendum decides, you know, once the people have voted, decides what to do and stays in office," replied Mr Johnson.

"So, it's not normal for the prime minister having asked for a referendum vote suddenly to evacuate the stage."

He insisted he wasn't "trying to form the next government" when embarking on the Leave campaign but he "wanted to win an argument", adding: "And I believed in freedom and I believed that our country had a great, great future."

Mr Johnson also hinted a return to Parliament could be possible when asked if his political career was over.

"I'm very glad you asked that because I'm living a life of blameless obscurity... writing books," he said.

"And my chances of returning to politics, as I think I've said before, are about as good as my being reincarnated as an olive, blinded by a Champagne cork, locked in a disused fridge or decapitated by a frisbee."

He also said he is proud of his record and his landslide election win, adding: "In 2019 we put together an enormous coalition of people and we got 14 million votes, which is 4 million more than Starmer got in 2024, right?"

"I think that you will find a pretty extraordinary story that we packed in to three years," he said of his book.

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Mr Johnson's interview coincides with the release of his memoir, Unleashed, a more than 700-page book described by its publisher HarperCollins as "candid, unrestrained, and revealing".

The 60-year-old ex-Etonian was due to be interviewed by BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Thursday before it was cancelled after she mistakenly sent him her research.

Ms Kuenssberg wrote on X: "While prepping to interview Boris Johnson tomorrow, by mistake I sent our briefing notes to him in a message meant for my team. That obviously means it’s not right for the interview to go ahead."

She said it was "frustrating... embarrassing and disappointing" not being able to ask Mr Johnson "plenty of important questions".

The former MP had a glittering political career before quitting as an MP in June 2023, but presided over several controversies and crises which eventually ended his time as a politician.

His decision to back Brexit before the 2016 referendum is viewed by many as a turning point in the campaign which helped tip the balance toward a Leave win.

It made him the natural choice to succeed Theresa May as prime minister when she failed to find consensus on exactly how the UK should leave the European Union.

And his promise to "get Brexit done" ahead of the 2019 general election is perhaps the strongest reason he won a huge 80-seat majority - but the crisis which would eventually become his undoing arrived in the UK just months later.

After a slow response to the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister forced the UK into a strict lockdown where most gatherings were banned.

But he fell foul of his own rules. Mr Johnson, along with his wife and Rishi Sunak, was fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaking Covid regulations by attending a gathering to celebrate his birthday.

Coronavirus rules were also repeatedly broken by his Downing Street staff, with numerous illegal gatherings taking place on his watch.

He insisted to Parliament that he was unaware of illegal gatherings taking place in Downing Street - a claim the Privileges Committee eventually decided was misleading.

ITV News revealed several gatherings, including one where his principle private secretary Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 people to attend drinks in the Number 10 garden, and another discussed by his staff in the infamous Allegra Stratton video.

Despite public opinion turning against the prime minister over the Partygate scandal, he battled on and was buoyed by his support for Ukraine when Russia invaded in early 2022.

But he was brought down by his ministers in summer 2022 following numerous Cabinet resignations which made his position untenable.

Rather than blame the Partygate scandal, many said they decided to quit in protest at how he handled a minister being accused of sexual assault.

He announced his resignation as prime minister on July 7, 2022, but planned to stay on as a backbencher.

Mr Johnson quit as an MP less than a year later, just days before the House of Commons Privileges Committee found he deliberately misled MPs and committed “repeated contempts of parliament”.

The committee said it would have recommended a suspension of 90 days, had he remained an MP.

Mr Johnson has always denied misleading Parliament and insisted he always followed pandemic regulations.

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