for northern ireland has been passed despite a rebellion from his backbenchers. we begin here in the uk, where the former prime minister, borisjohnson, has denied lying to parliament. he�*s been giving evidence to a parliamentary committee that�*ll determine whether he deliberately misled mps about attending parties during covid lockdowns. he acknowledged that he had misled parliament, but said that was inadvertent, and again apologised. let�*s hear mrjohnson�*s opening statement. the purpose of this inquiry is not to reopen party gate it�*s to discover whether or not i lied to parliament and wittingly misled colleagues and what i knew and believed about those gatherings when i set the rules and the guidance had been followed at number ten.