Although he is due to leave No 10 in less than a month, the Commons privileges committee inquiry is still ongoing into the Prime Minister’s initial denials in December last year that any Covid laws were broken during the lockdown. Some of Johnson’s critics want him to resign as an MP to avoid the process of keeping the spotlight on a deeply embarrassing issue for the party, which has strained relations among colleagues. The inquiry, which is being led by a Tory-majority commission that has chosen Labour’s Harriet Harman to chair it, is expected to take months. The committee asked for a batch of evidence, including Johnson’s diaries covering the 12 days the parties were held in Westminster in breach of Covid rules, emails and WhatsApp messages, photographs, internal memos and a list of deleted documents. If Johnson is found to have misled parliament, he could face suspension from the Commons and a recall petition which, if signed by 10% of his voters in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, would trigger a by-election. Unlike when Tory MPs were whipped to save Owen Paterson, which sparked turmoil in the party’s ranks over swearing and scandal, some of Johnson’s fiercest opponents have said they would happily back an end to the Partygate inquiry if the Johnson resigns as an MP. One source said: “I think there’s a case – not just for the parliamentary party, but for everyone – that we’re just getting out of this psychodrama.” They added the quid pro quo in support of a motion that would effectively end the investigation would be for Johnson to “walk out of the Commons.” Another Tory MP who helped oust Johnson said if the incoming prime minister decided to spare Johnson’s fate by tabling a motion in the Commons to end the investigation and asked for peer support, “that’s fine”. “I can see the benefit of it being rewarding,” they said. “The primary political objective has been achieved. It depends on whether our next leader wants to continue this internal war in the Conservative Party or just take the hit.” If Johnson resigns as an MP, a by-election will be called. He won the west London seat in 2019 with a majority of just 7,210. With the Conservatives not ahead in the polls since December 2021 and having lost a number of safe Tory seats over the past year, holding Uxbridge and South Ruislip would not be certain. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST One of Johnson’s closest allies, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, insisted he would stay in politics but suggested ending the privileges committee investigation anyway. “If this witch hunt continues, it will be the most egregious abuse of power seen at Westminster,” he tweeted on Sunday. “It will cast serious doubt not only on the reputation of individual MPs sitting on the committee, but on the processes of parliament and democracy itself.” Dorris also accused the seven MPs behind the inquiry of operating a “kangaroo court” and said he had been “brutally removed”. He called on fellow supporters of the outgoing prime minister to rally behind Liz Truss, the front-runner in the Tory leadership race. Asked what Johnson would do next, Dorris told the Sunday Express: “Boris will definitely stay in politics. You won’t get rid of Boris.” Zach Goldsmith, another Johnson ally who was made a peer by the prime minister when he lost his seat in 2019, said the Partygate investigation was “obviously rigged”. “This is a jury made up of highly partisan, vindictive and vindictive MPs, almost all of whom already have a record of violent attacks on the person judging,” he tweeted. “It’s an obscene abuse of power.” Tory backbencher Bill Cash has drawn up a motion calling for the inquiry to be scrapped, arguing it is “unnecessary” given Johnson’s departure from Downing Street in early September. The benefits committee has been contacted for comment.
title: “Tories Ask Boris Johnson To Resign As Mp To Avoid Partygate Probe Boris Johnson " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-25” author: “Donald Knoke”
Although he is due to leave No 10 in less than a month, the Commons privileges committee inquiry is still ongoing into the prime minister’s initial denials in December last year that any Covid laws were broken during the lockdown. Some of Johnson’s critics want him to resign as an MP to avoid the process of keeping the spotlight on a deeply embarrassing issue for the party, which has strained relations among colleagues. The inquiry, which is being led by a Tory-majority commission that has chosen Labour’s Harriet Harman to chair it, is expected to take months. The committee asked for a trove of evidence, including Johnson’s diaries covering the 12 days he partied in Westminster in breach of Covid rules, as well as emails, WhatsApp messages, photographs, internal memos and a list of deleted documents. If Johnson is found to have misled parliament, he could face suspension from the Commons and a recall petition which, if signed by 10% of his voters in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, would trigger a by-election. Unlike when Tory MPs were whipped to save Owen Paterson, which sparked turmoil in the party’s ranks over swearing and scandal, some of Johnson’s fiercest opponents have said they would happily back an end to the Partygate inquiry if the Johnson resigns as an MP. One source said: “I think there’s a case – not just for the parliamentary party, but for everyone – that we’re just getting out of this psychodrama.” The quid pro quo for backing a motion that would effectively end the investigation would be for Johnson to “walk out of the Commons”, they added. Another Tory MP who helped oust Johnson said if the incoming prime minister decided to spare Johnson’s fate by tabling a motion in the Commons to end the investigation and asked for peer support, “that’s fine”. “I can see the benefit of it being rewarding,” they said. “The primary political objective has been achieved. It depends on whether our next leader wants to continue this internal war in the Conservative Party or just take the hit.” If Johnson resigns as an MP, a by-election will be called. He won the west London seat in 2019 with a majority of just 7,210. With the Conservatives not ahead in the polls since December 2021 and having lost a number of safe Tory seats over the past year, holding Uxbridge and South Ruislip would not be certain. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST One of Johnson’s closest allies, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, insisted he would stay in politics but suggested ending the privileges committee investigation anyway. “If this witch hunt continues, it will be the most egregious abuse of power seen at Westminster,” he tweeted on Sunday. “It will cast serious doubt not only on the reputation of individual MPs sitting on the committee, but on the processes of parliament and democracy itself.” Dorris also accused the seven MPs behind the inquiry of operating a “kangaroo court” and said Johnson had been “brutally removed”. He called on fellow supporters of the outgoing prime minister to rally behind Liz Truss, the front-runner in the Tory leadership race. Asked what Johnson would do next, Dorris told the Sunday Express: “Boris will definitely stay in politics. You won’t get rid of Boris.” Zach Goldsmith, another Johnson ally who was made a peer by the prime minister when he lost his seat in 2019, said the Partygate investigation was “obviously rigged”. “This is a jury made up of highly partisan, vindictive and vindictive MPs, almost all of whom already have a record of violent attacks on the person judging,” he tweeted. “It’s an obscene abuse of power.” Tory backbencher Bill Cash has drawn up a motion calling for the inquiry to be scrapped, arguing it is “unnecessary” given Johnson’s departure from Downing Street in early September. Chris Bryant, a Labor MP who resigned as chair of the inquiry after publicly criticizing Johnson, said he was “not aware of a single historical instance where a privilege inquiry has been abandoned”. “The argument for leaving shows an extraordinary degree of complicity in Johnson’s wrongdoing and a very casual attitude towards standards and truth in parliament,” he said. “If the Government table a motion to withdraw, the Tories will attack Johnson’s mast again.” A privilege committee spokesman said the investigation was being conducted properly and denied there had been any change to the rules or terms of reference. They said a paper on whether Johnson could be found in contempt of parliament was prepared by a senior official who “is strictly politically impartial”. They added that advice had been obtained from former Court of Appeal judge Sir Ernest Ryder, which was published in the interest of transparency.
