The debate over a damning Privileges Committee report which branded Boris Johnson a ‘liar’ has started in the House of Commons, ahead of a close vote to decide his fate.
The former Prime Minister deliberately misled Parliament by repeatedly denying that lockdown parties had taken place in Downing Street, the committee has found.
Mr Johnson resigned as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip with immediate effect days before the report was officially published.
The former leader of the Conservative Party dramatically threw in the towel after learning the committee had concluded he should be suspended for 90 days – a sanction that could have triggered a by-election.
His decision to stand down with immediate effect means MPs won’t be voting on his future in parliament – but rather on whether or not they support the Privileges Committee report.
They will also vote on whether Mr Johnson should be stripped of his parliamentary pass – which allows him to come and go on parliamentary grounds.
No former Prime Minister has ever faced such a sanction.
Mr Johnson claims he was ‘kicked out of Parliament’ and has accused the cross-party committee of being a ‘kangaroo court’ – despite four of its seven members being Tories.
Downing Street has not pushed Tory MPs to vote back and forth – meaning they have the option to snub Mr Johnson, if they choose.
He reportedly told his supporters not to vote against the report’s findings.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, praised the committee for their ‘careful work’ and ‘dignity in the face of insults to their integrity’.
The former prime minister said: ‘This committee report is important. This debate matters. And that vote counts. They are important because they go to the heart of the bond of trust and respect between the public and Parliament that underpins the functioning of this place and our democracy.
Upgrade Secretary Michael Gove yesterday said the 90-day suspension was not justified by the evidence.
Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Liz Truss, today called the report ‘rather harsh’.
‘[Boris Johnson] he himself said he made mistakes, and none of us are perfect,” she said.
“I think the judgment is quite severe, but I do not question the integrity of these people.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been urged to “show leadership” amid speculation he will skip the vote.
This morning he said he had not swayed anyone ahead of the decision, telling Good Morning Britain: ‘It will be up to each MP to make a decision on what they want to do when the time comes, it is important that the government ‘not to get involved in this because it is a matter for the parliament and the members as individuals, not the members as a government.’
But Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister should ‘come into the lobby and show us where he is’.
Mr Sunak faced a fresh headache after a video emerged showing a party at Conservative campaign headquarters during the pandemic.
The Metropolitan Police are ‘considering’ the footage, captured on December 14, 2020, when the nation was under Tier 2 restrictions and ordered not to socialize indoors.
And the Prime Minister also faces four potentially damaging by-elections after another Tory MP announced he was stepping down on Sunday.
David Warburton has resigned from his Somerset and Frome seat after accusations of sexual harassment and drug use.
The by-election for Mr Johnson’s former seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip is due to take place on July 20.
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