Boris Johnson tells Sky News new allegations of lockdown rule breaking are ‘complete nonsense’

Boris Johnson has insisted the contemporary claims he broke lockdown guidelines are “total nonsense” and that parts of his ministerial diary have been “cherry picked and handed to police”.

The former prime minister was confronted by Sky News in regards to the allegations as he made his means by way of the Dulles International Airport in Washington following a short tour of the US.

Asked if he broke the principles he instructed Sky’s US correspondent James Matthews: “This whole thing is a load of nonsense from beginning to end.

“I believe it is ridiculous that parts in my diary needs to be cherry picked and handed over to the police, to the privileges committee with out even anyone having the fundamental frequent sense to ask me what these entries referred to.”

Mr Johnson was referred to the police by the cupboard workplace on Wednesday over occasions in Chequers and Downing Street following a evaluate of his official diary as a part of the official COVID inquiry.

Pressed on whether or not the entries confirmed him “mingling with friends”, Mr Johnson insisted “that is absolutely not what these diary entries show”.

He mentioned: “I simply suppose it’s very nonsensical and weird that there are tens of hundreds of entries within the the Prime Minister’s diary. I’ve by no means seen this stuff earlier than.

“I have looked through it. None of them constitute a breach of the rules during COVID, they weren’t during lockdown.

“They have been throughout different intervals of the restrictions. None of them represent a breach of the principles. None of them contain socialising. It is complete nonsense.”

Mr Johnson has beforehand mentioned he believes he is the victim of a “politically motivated stitch-up” and ditched the government-appointed attorneys representing him within the COVID-19 public inquiry following his police referral.

He wouldn’t be drawn on who was “stitching him up” however mentioned: “Someone somewhere thinks it’s sensible to do this. I don’t.”

Johnson met Trump to ‘discuss Ukraine’

Mr Johnson mentioned he has been within the US to “talk about Ukraine”.

It comes after he met former US president Donald Trump on Thursday, together with his spokesman saying the aim of this was “to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the vital importance of Ukrainian victory”.

It shouldn’t be clear the place the assembly befell, however throughout his US tour Mr Johnson has stopped off in each Texas and Las Vegas.

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The two leaders have recognized one another for a few years, and labored collectively when Mr Trump was US president and Mr Johnson was in cost at Downing Street.

Mr Trump has spoken extremely of Mr Johnson and earlier this month known as him a “wonderful guy” and “a friend of mine”.

However he solid doubt on a political comeback whereas claiming the Conservatives had gone “far left” and “too liberal” beneath his management.

He beforehand instructed GB News: “I liked him so much, I still like him, but he really went a little bit on the liberal side.

“He impulsively grew to become an environmentalist and I’m speaking about in all probability in a unfavourable means, an excessive amount of.”

The two have previously been aligned on policy issues, such as Brexit, but they have also diverged in recent years, most notably on Ukraine.

Mr Johnson was nonetheless prime minister when Russia invaded its southern neighbour final February and was a pacesetter in serving to rally worldwide assist for the Ukrainian folks and its army.

Meanwhile Mr Trump – who has touted his “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin – has one thing of a chequered historical past involving Ukraine, courting again to earlier than Moscow’s invasion final 12 months.

In September 2019, studies emerged he had asked Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to investigate then former vp Joe Biden, who was anticipated to run in opposition to him within the 2020 presidential election.

That telephone name led to Mr Trump’s first impeachment on costs of abuse of energy and obstruction of congress – however he was not convicted after a trial within the Senate.

Earlier this month, in a city corridor dialog broadcast as a part of his 2024 presidential marketing campaign, Mr Trump – who’s working to be the Republican candidate once more – refused to say who he thinks ought to prevail and mentioned he’d finish the warfare in simply 24 hours.

He mentioned: “I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”