Boris Johnson describes partygate as 'miserable' as questions continue over possibility of confidence vote

The Prime Minister said he was “taken aback” to have received a fine for the event in the Cabinet Room on his 56th birthday in June 2020, while responding to questions from parents on the site Mumsnet.

There is growing expectation that Mr Johnson may face a vote of confidence in his leadership as soon as next week, following a number of his own MPs calling for him to step aside.

Mr Johnson also denied in the interview, in which questions from the public were put to him, that he was a “habitual liar”.

Speaking to the website’s founder Justine Roberts about the birthday event, he said: “I think if people look at the event in question it felt to me like a work event.

“I was there for a very short period of time in the Cabinet Office, at my desk, and I was very very surprised and taken aback to get a fixed-penalty notice.”

He later suggested the event was “miserable” and said that he did not eat any cake.

When asked if it was more important for Downing Street to hold leaving drinks for staff than members of the public to be able to attend funeral services for their family members, Mr Johnson added: “What I thought was doing was right for a leader, in any circumstances, and that was to thank people for their service.”

Mr Johnson’s own ethics adviser Lord Geidt is among those to have criticised his handling of partygate, suggesting Mr Johnson’s fixed penalty notice (FPN) may have breached the ministerial code.

While speculation continues over whether a vote of confidence may be called, one Yorkshire MP has said he does not believe a leadership election is the right move for the country right now.

Alec Shelbrooke, who represents Elmet and Rothwell, said in a statement yesterday that he recognises the “genuine anger and dissatisfaction” over partygate and added that it is “somewhat an anathema” to him that “politicians of all parties – and civil servants – have found themselves implicated in a situation in which their own conduct has been called into question”.

However, the post on his website added: “I simply do not believe that the United Kingdom is best served by the Conservative Party’s indulgence in a protracted leadership election at a time when the Prime Minister’s leadership is being relied upon internationally.”

Mr Shelbrooke said: “International solidarity is important in times of conflict and whilst some in the UK may disagree, the view internationally is that Boris Johnson is at the forefront of the global response,” to the war in Ukraine.