Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over breaches of Covid-19 lockdown rules, a parliamentary committee has found.

The damning report found that Johnson "committed a serious contempt" of parliament when, after the so-called "Partygate" scandal which revealed that illegal gatherings took place at Downing Street, Johnson told parliament that rules were followed at all times.

"The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government," the Privileges Committee wrote in its report, published Thursday.

"There is no precedent for a Prime Minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House."

"He misled the House on an issue of the greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly," the members wrote, adding that Johnson also misled the committee when he presented evidence in his defense.

The investigation's focus was on Johnson's conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was prime minister and found by police to have breached his own rules.

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