Boris Johnson to apologise again for Partygate scandal during two-hour grilling by MPs

BORIS Johnson will today apologise to MPs again over Partygate.

The PM faces the Commons for the first time since being fined £50 after aides sang “Happy Birthday” to him between meetings in lockdown.

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Last night, a Downing Street source said: “We’ll have a wholehearted apology, in recognition of the huge strength of feeling over recent weeks.”

No10 insists BoJo “will not shy away from taking responsibility for what’s happened”. He could be grilled by MPs for at least two hours.

Last night, No10 said the PM will use today to “talk about how important the last two weeks have been in the wider world — from the energy strategy and tackling small boats, to visiting Kyiv and speaking to President Biden”.

They insist he will not walk away, as: “He’s totally focused on tackling the problems the country is facing right now.”

And last night ex Defence Secretary Michael Portillo gave the PM his backing, saying: “He has this extraordinary charisma. He’s an epic election winner, one of the finest politicians I’ve seen in the years that I’ve been around.”

It comes as cops are under pressure to widen their ­Partygate probe to include a boozy bash for ousted spin doctor Lee Cain held in No10 in November 2020.

It’s claimed Mr Johnson posed for photographs and signed a pair of boxing gloves at a leaving do for the sacked aide during lockdown.

Pictures of the gathering to mark his departure were posted online but have since been deleted from social media.

Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was spoken to by police after footage showed her without a face mask while campaigning — days before Scotland’s Covid laws were dropped.

But Police Scotland said no further action would be taken — much to the fury of Tories.