LIVE: Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over partygate, Privileges Commitee report finds

Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over whether Covid lockdown rules were broken in No 10, a report has found.

MPs on the Privileges Committee rejected Mr Johnson’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10.

The publication of the panel's report comes just days after the former Prime Minister dramatically announced he is stepping down as an MP. It is understood that Mr Johnson received a draft of the findings before quitting on Friday night.

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The committee said Mr Johnson had made last-minute representations ahead of the release of its report and that it was “dealing with” submissions received from the ex-premier at 11.57pm on Monday. Its release had already been reportedly pushed back due to a printing problem in Parliament.

On Tuesday night, the former PM urged the panel to publish its “nonsense” report as the delay continued. In a statement, Mr Johnson lashed out at the panel’s “absurdly unfair rules”, which he said prevented him from criticising its findings, and vowed to make his “views clear” when they are released.

Mr Johnson previously attacked the seven-person committee, which is chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Conservative majority, as a “kangaroo court” when he announced his Commons exit last week.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is also at war with one-time ally Rishi Sunak over his resignation honours list. The current Prime Minister suggested his former boss wanted him to ignore the recommendations of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Mr Johnson said Mr Sunak was "talking rubbish". His camp accused the PM of having “secretly blocked” the peerages