Facts

Trevor Philips asked Nadim Zahawi about Boris Johnson’s denial of No. 10 “Christmas parties”, saying: “When the government was asked ‘did this happen’, we were told point blank they didn’t happen, until you had to admit they did happen.” 

But Zahawi responded: “The Prime Minister said to the best of his knowledge there were no parties.”

When challenged about the parties at PMQ’s, Boris Johnson said: “What I can tell the honourable gentleman is that all guidance was followed completely in No. 10.” 

Verdict 

Nadim Zahawi’s claim that the Prime Minister denied the parties “to the best of his knowledge” was false. The Prime Minister did not leave open the possibility that the parties might have occurred without his knowledge. He unequivocally denied the reports. We offered Mr Zahawi the chance to challenge this verdict. He did not respond.