Boris Johnson’s allies call Partygate Commons investigation ‘stitch’

While the prime minister is due to make way for Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss in a few weeks, he still faces an investigation into whether he misled parliament.

The investigation dates back to assurances he gave to Parliament that all rules were being followed in Downing Street during the lockdown.

If he is found guilty of breaking the rules and suspended, voters in his London constituency could call a by-election and oust him from parliament altogether.

Mr Johnson, who was fined by the Met Police for his own conduct at the height of the pandemic, has always denied deliberately misleading MPs but admits inadvertently giving an account which turned out to be false.

Under his leadership, Downing Street has become the rule-breaking capital of the country, with dozens of fixed fines issued to senior and junior staff.

As the Commons Privileges Committee is set to continue its work when Parliament returns in September, the Prime Minister’s supporters have sought to discredit it before it even begins.

Nadine Dorries, who Mr Johnson has handed the post of culture secretary, wrote on Twitter: If this witch hunt continues, it will be the most egregious abuse of power seen in Westminster.

This will cast serious doubt not only on the reputation of individual MPs serving on the committee, but on the processes of Parliament and of democracy itself.

Unelected peer Zac Goldsmith, who was handed a lifetime seat in the House of Lords and a ministerial post by Mr Johnson, also claimed the inquiry was clearly rigged.

He said: This is a jury of highly partisan, vengeful and vindictive MPs, almost all of whom have previously publicly violently attacked the person they are trying. This is an obscene abuse of power.

The majority of MPs on the seven-member panel are Conservative MPs. Labor MP Chris Bryant, a vocal critic of Mr Johnson, stepped down to deflect allegations of political bias.

The two ministers made the comments while sharing a Mail on Sunday article containing quotes from an anonymous Prime Minister supporter calling the investigation a sting.

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