Under-fire Boris Johnson denies lying over lockdown parties

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied misleading Parliament about lockdown-breaching parties. It came after senior government ministers said Johnson would have to resign if he is proven to have lied. Former Johnson aide Dominic Cummings claims the prime minister was warned in advance that a May 2020 garden party for Downing Street staff would break coronavirus restrictions. Johnson denies he was warned. He said Tuesday that “when I went out into that garden I thought that I was attending a work event.” The garden party is one of a string of alleged rule-flouting government parties being investigated by senior civil servant Sue Gray. The “partygate” scandal has brought calls for Johnson to resign.