Boris Johnson denial fails to quell controversy over claim he said ‘bodies could pile up’

Labour demands apology as two ‘ear-witnesses’ report hearing remark in rant from PM’s office

Pressure is growing on Boris Johnson over claims that he said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than order a third lockdown after two “ear-witnesses” were reported to have heard the rant from the prime minister’s study.

A straight denial by the prime minister – and a more equivocal statement by cabinet minister Michael Gove – failed to kill off the controversy, with Labour demanding an apology for what it branded “disgraceful” comments.

Tory MPs also did not rally publicly around the PM, with some saying privately that they could imagine him using such language.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party did not deny reports that it had provided a loan to Mr Johnson for the five-figure refurbishment of his 11 Downing Street flat, before he came up with cash to cover the bill himself.

Cabinet secretary Simon Case revealed he will conduct a review on the propriety of the funding of the renovations, believed to have cost at least £58,000 above the £30,000 annual maximum covered by the taxpayer.

In a dead-bat appearance before a parliamentary committee, Mr Case also admitted that an inquiry into the leak of details of the second Covid lockdown may never find the so-called “chatty rat” culprit.

He also said he would discuss with the PM whether there should be another investigation to find the source of a report in the Daily Mail suggesting he responded to the introduction of the second lockdown last autumn by raging: “No more f***ing lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands!”

Asked if he made the comments, Mr Johnson told reporters in Wrexham: “No, but I think the important thing I think people want us to get on and do as a government is to make sure that the lockdowns work.”

His official spokesperson said: “The prime minister didn’t make that statement.”

But Mr Gove was less emphatic when questioned by MPs in the House of Commons, telling them: “The idea that you would say any such thing, I find incredible. I was in that room, I never heard language of that kind.”

ITV political editor Robert Peston reported two “ear-witnesses” as saying that the comment was heard through an open door as Mr Johnson raged in his private study following the meeting which approved the second lockdown – suggesting that Mr Gove may not have been present at the key moment.

The BBC also reported that Mr Johnson had been heard to suggest that “bodies could pile high” during a heated discussion in N6 10.

One Tory former minister said it was possible to imagine the PM making the comment, telling The Independent: “He does tend to get carried away. It’s the kind of rhetorical flourish he could make without thinking too much about it.”

Another senior Conservative backbencher said: “This is part of the problem when you have tribes at No 10. It all gets very messy.”

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner made clear she did not believe the prime minister’s denials, and demanded an apology from Mr Johnson.

“The prime minister has degraded the office he holds with rampant and overwhelming sleaze,” said Ms Rayner. 

“But making light of the more than 127,000 deaths that happened on his watch and then trying to cover it up is a new low. This must now end.

“The prime minister should apologise to all those who have lost someone during the pandemic.”

Giving evidence to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Mr Case admitted it was “probable” that the identify of the leaker who revealed details of the second lockdown ahead of time will never be known.

But he pointedly declined under repeated questioning to confirm Dominic Cummings’s claims that he had personally cleared the PM’s former senior adviser of suspicion.

In a bombshell allegation last week, Mr Cummings accused the PM of wanting to call off the hunt when it emerged it might identify a friend of his partner Carrie Symonds. 

But Mr Case told MPs: “The prime minister has always been clear that we are very determined to see these inquiries completed.”

ITV’s Peston reported that an audit trail exists to show that Conservative HQ paid the bill for the Downing Street flat refit with a loan, which was now being paid back by the PM.

Downing Street said on Friday that the PM himself paid for all work above the annual contribution from the public purse. But if this was done through a loan, Mr Johnson would have to declare it under the terms of the ministerial code of conduct. 

A Conservative party spokesperson did not deny a loan was extended, saying only: “All reportable donations to the Conservative Party are correctly declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them and comply fully with the law.

“Gifts and benefits received in a ministerial capacity are, and will continue to be, declared in government transparency returns.”