Boris Johnson misled the Commons in five different ways, the Privileges Committee has found.
The former Prime Minister resigned as an MP last Friday, June 9, ahead of an anticipated Privileges Committee report investigating allegations whether he knowingly misled the House of Commons. The report from the cross-party investigation, published today, June 15, said Mr Johnson committed "repeated contempts" of Parliament with his partygate denials that merited a 90-day suspension.
The Privileges Committee's recommended suspension for acts, including deliberately misleading MPs, would have paved the way for a by-election for the former prime minister if he had not resigned in anticipation. Mr Johnson hit out at what he called a "deranged conclusion", accusing the Tory-majority group of MPs he has repeatedly sought to disparage of lying.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson committed 'serious contempt' of House of Commons with partygate denials
In its report, the committee said the former prime minister had misled the Commons by:
- Claiming Covid rules and guidance were followed at all times in Number 10 on four separate occasions;
- Failing to tell the House "about his own knowledge of the gatherings where the rules or guidance had been broken";
- Saying he relied on "repeated reassurances" that rules had not been broken;
- Insisting on waiting for Sue Gray's report to be published before he could answer questions in the House, when he had "personal knowledge which he did not reveal";
- By claiming that rules and guidance had been followed while he was present at gatherings in Number 10 when he "purported to correct the record" in May 2022.
The committee also found Mr Johnson had been "disingenuous" when giving evidence to them in six "ways which amount to misleading".
Mr Johnson called the committee led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman "beneath contempt" and claimed its 14-month investigation had delivered "what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination". Mr Johnson quit the Commons last week after reading the report's findings, meaning he will escape the immediate prospect of a sanction.
The recommended suspension far exceeded the 10-day threshold which, if approved by the wider House of Commons, could have led to a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
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