Merseyside's only Conservative Member of Parliament has explained why he didn't vote on last night's Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson.
The report found that Mr Johnson repeatedly misled Parliament over lockdown parties in Downing Street during the pandemic. The vote in the House of Commons last night saw 354 MPs vote to support the findings of the committee, while just seven members rejected them.
While many Conservatives backed their colleagues on the committee a large number of Tories chose to abstain altogether from the vote. This included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has been labelled weak over the decision.
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Others who stayed away from the vote included Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Foreign Secretary James Cleverley.
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Another Conservative MP who chose to abstain on the vote was Southport MP Damien Moore. Since his election in 2017, Mr Moore has been Merseyside's only Tory representative in the House of Commons.
The ECHO asked Mr Moore why he did not deem the vote important enough to have his say. In response, he said: “The Privileges committee have completed the investigation they were asked to undertake and have reached a conclusion. Last night the report they presented to Parliament did not require a vote to be accepted.
"I have previously made my views on events in Downing Street known. My focus is to continue to deliver for the people of Southport, which is what I was elected to do.”
In May last year, following the publication of Sue Gray's damning report into Downing Street parties, Mr Moore said: "I do not in any way support anyone blatantly breaking the covid rules, which were put in place to protect us all. I, like the vast majority of those of us in Southport, consistently followed the rules, and I know from my conversations and correspondence with constituents how extremely difficult this was for them."
He later refused to support the beleaguered Prime Minister as he faced a vote of no confidence before eventually resigning.
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