Lawyers advising UK’s Johnson say Partygate inquiry unfair

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Even as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to step down, the debate over his conduct in office is heating up. Johnson on Friday released a government-commissioned legal opinion arguing that a parliamentary inquiry into the so-called Partygate scandal is unfair and “fundamentally flawed.” The opinion comes as a panel of lawmakers prepares to begin hearing testimony on whether Johnson misled Parliament when he repeatedly denied that staffers held a series of parties in his Downing Street offices — in violation of COVID-19 lockdown rules.