On Monday, the MPs looking into whether Boris Johnson lied to the House of Commons about lockdown celebrations in Downing Street will convene. On Friday, Mr. Johnson abruptly resigned from his position as an MP after receiving a copy of the Privileges Committee report early on.
The committee, according to the former prime minister, is a “kangaroo court” that aims to “drive him out of Parliament. Today will see the report’s completion, and this week will probably see its publication.
For almost one year, the seven-person committee – a majority of whom are Conservatives – have been considering whether Mr Johnson lied in the Commons about breaches of Covid rules in government.
In the wake of Mr Johnson’s sudden and angry resignation, a spokesperson for the panel insisted it would continue with its work and would publish the conclusions “promptly”.
The committee had been preparing to recommend a suspension of ten days or more for Mr. Johnson as an MP, according to information provided to the BBC. This threshold would have triggered a recall petition among his constituents and could have led to a potential by-election.
But even if the MPs had recommended this, the full House of Commons would have had to approve the punishment. By resigning, the former prime minister has avoided a sanction, although the committee is still able to add to the criticism in its report.
“kangaroo court”
Over the weekend, the committee said Mr Johnson’s “kangaroo court” comments had impugned the integrity of Parliament.
In evidence given in March, Mr Johnson admitted misleading Parliament, but denied doing it on purpose. He acknowledged that social distancing had not been “perfect” at gatherings in Downing Street during lockdowns but maintained that he and his colleagues followed the guidelines, as he understood them, at all times.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said people wanted to move on from the “drama” of Boris Johnson, dismissing the ex-PM’s claim that he was the victim of a witch hunt.
He said it was Mr Johnson’s “own decision” to stand down as an MP, and he denied reports Rishi Sunak’s team had prevented Mr Johnson from handing honours to key allies.
Boris Johnson stood down from Parliament just hours after Downing Street published his resignation honours list without the names of key supporters, including Nadine Dorries, Sir Alok Sharma and Nigel Adams.
House of Lords
All three had expected to receive appointments to the House of Lords. The competing claims regarding the removal of their names are now causing a rift within the Tory party, following the resignation of the former PM.
A source familiar with the process has told the BBC that Mr Sunak’s political team removed some of Mr Johnson’s suggestions months ago.
Asked if rumours were true that Mr Sunak’s team had removed the names, Mr Shapps said: “No.”
“The prime minster has exactly followed the very longstanding conventions” over honours, In addition Mr Shapps said.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) – the official body for checking and vetting new peers – has confirmed it rejected eight of Mr Johnson’s nominations on the grounds of propriety.
Within 24 hours of publishing the list, both Ms. Dorries and Mr. Adams resigned as MPs, thus triggering by-elections in their constituencies. Both constituencies are considered safe seats for the Conservatives.
Additionally, Mr Johnson’s resignation also triggers a by-election in his marginal constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.