South Swindon’s MP has revealed that he believes Boris Johnson was genuinely sorry for attending a Number 10 party during lockdown.

Robert Buckland, who was justice secretary at the time of the alleged rule-breaking parties last year, spoke to the BBC about Johnson's latest statement.

Sir Robert said: “What I saw was an apology which I thought was real.

“I know the prime minister. I know the body language and tone and that was a real apology."

He went on to say that Sue Gray’s anticipated report into ‘Partygate’ could see “heads rolling”.

It would be “out of the question” for the PM to disregard the findings of the report and what happened was “wholly inappropriate,” Buckland said.

“What I think the public deserve now and what we hope - bearing in mind what all of us went through - is not just an apology but an explanation.

“I think any prime minister faced with these political circumstances is in a very narrow space indeed and disregarding findings is wholly out of the question,”he said.

In a separate interview with GB News, he admitted that the “drip-drip” effect of more parties being exposed was “corrosive” and that the government “needs to get in front and tell the whole story”.

This week was particularly rocky for Mr Johnson when he had to admit at PMQs that he had personally attended a party in the Number 10 gardens on May 20, 2020.

Number 10 had to apologise again on Friday when it came to light that two members of staff had held parties the night before Prince Philip’s funeral when indoor mixing was banned in April last year.

Sir Robert told Radio 4: “By his own admission, this was an error of judgement and he’s right about that... By the cold light of day, the facts that we all know about now meant that this was wholly inappropriate.

“I think - without being able to gaze into my crystal ball - that a certain set of facts that are very clear and found to be the case could lead to a set of conclusions that could see heads rolling. How precisely that would take place is yet to be clarified.

“I am troubled by what’s happening and I do expect the investigation will be a meaningful one, with consequences if breaches have been found.

"This is a moment of trial for all involved and I would expect high standards I think all of us demand from people in public life to be applied in this instance.”