Boris Johnson denies he was focused on his Shakespeare book as Covid hit
manchestereveningnews.co.ukBoris Johnson has rejected claims that he was preoccupied with writing his book about Shakespeare as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded.
The former Prime Minister was absent from several emergency Cobra meetings at the onset of the pandemic. However, in an interview with ITV this evening (Friday), he dismissed the suggestion that his focus was on his upcoming literary work at that time, stating: "That's complete nonsense...
a total, total myth". Johnson explained: "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." READ MORE: Coronavirus is 'wiping people out' right now, says GP - but what do you think?
Boris Johnson has defended officials who attended parties in Downing Street during lockdown. Discussing the so-called partygate scandal in a new ITV interview, the former prime minister said: “I really don't think those officials set out to break the rules.” It comes after it was revealed earlier that the former Tory MP said he regrets apologising for the lockdown-era gatherings, claiming the move had “inadvertently validated the entire corpus” as accusations were also levelled at officials who were “working very hard”.
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