Swindon MP asked about Partygate says lying would be 'beyond pale'

South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland has weighed in on the latest development in the Partygate controversy.

Pictures have surfaced showing Prime Minister Boris Johnson drinking and raising a glass at a Downing Street event.

His supporters say that as the event was captured by the official Downing Street photographer, it was a work matter and therefore not forbidden under the covid lockdown rules in force at the time.

The Prime Minister has been accused by critics of repeatedly lying about social gatherings and his attendance at them.

In spite of insisting last year that he broke no rules, Mr Johnson has been fined for doing so.

Sir Robert Buckland, who served in Mr Johnson's Cabinet as Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from July of 2019 until September of last year, was asked to comment on the controversy during a local radio interview.

He said: "If there's a deliberate lie, I can't see how anybody, including this prime minister, can continue."

Sir Robert later acknowledged that there were certain things a person might say which they honestly believed to be true, but added: "Going and deliberately saying X is Y knowing that is the case is, of course, beyond the pale."