Facts

A BBC reporter asked Rishi Sunak whether he had misled the House of Commons over Partygate. The Chancellor replied that "I've always acted, I believe, in good faith with regard to what I've said to Parliament." Sunak was not answering the question which he had asked  - namely whether he had misled parliament. The BBC allowed him to get away with it.  The interviewer failed to press the point and ask again whether Sunak had misled parliament.

The Ministerial Code states  “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity.” Had Sunak acknowledged that he had misled parliament, he would have been obliged to return to the Commons chamber and correct his error. 

Verdict  

Without direct knowledge of the inner workings of Rishi Sunak’s mind it’s impossible to know for certain whether or not he was acting, as he claimed, “in good faith.” Sloppy interviewing by the BBC enabled Sunak to dodge the real question - had the Chancellor misled parliament?

We approached Rishi Sunak’s office to give him a chance to comment, but received no response.