Evidence strongly suggests it would have been “obvious” to Boris Johnson that COVID rules were being breached at Downing Street gatherings he attended, a committee of MPs examining the issue has said.

MPs on the cross-party Commons Privileges Committee were tasked with investigating whether Mr Johnson misled parliament over partygate allegations after Sir Keir Starmer tabled a motion in April 2022.

The former prime minister repeatedly denied COVID lockdown rules were broken at Number 10 when asked in the Commons.

On Friday, the committee published its initial report, including some previously unseen photos of Downing Street parties, saying the Commons may have been misled multiple times.

It said Mr Johnson will give oral evidence in parliament in the week beginning 20 March, and revealed what it will ask Mr Johnson.

The report said: “The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings.

“There is evidence that those who were advising Mr Johnson about what to say to the press and in the House were themselves struggling to contend that some gatherings were within the rules.”

Mr Johnson claimed the interim report showed he was being “vindicated” and it is “clear from this report that I have not committed any contempt of parliament”.

“That is because there is no evidence in the report that I knowingly or recklessly misled parliament, or that I failed to update parliament in a timely manner,” he added.

“Nor is there any evidence in the report that I was aware that any events taking place in No 10 or the Cabinet Office were in breach of the rules or the guidance.”