What to expect when Boris Johnson ‘sets the record straight’ next week

The PM has promised to say more when he updates parliament. What will he say, asks John Rentoul

It is hard for Johnson to insist that he didn’t break the law and that the police have got it wrong. He may save that for his memoirs (Getty Images)

The prime minister said yesterday: “I will set the record straight in any way that I can.” He was asked if he was going to correct the record about Downing Street gatherings during lockdown. He told the Commons in December: “The guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”

Yet on Tuesday, he paid a penalty for breaking the law, so that statement will have to be amended, and at the earliest possible opportunity – which will be this Tuesday, when parliament returns after the Easter recess.

“I shall be saying more when I update parliament next week,” Boris Johnson told journalists after his speech about the Rwanda asylum plan. But what will he say to MPs, and how much further will he go than the short statement he put out after receiving his penalty notice and paying the fine?