Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg are among eight senior Tories who attempted to undermine the work of the Privileges Committee as it investigated Boris Johnson, a fresh Partygate report has found.
In a damning annex to its orginal report, the MPs spelled out a series of the most “disturbing” attacks on its inquiry into Mr Johnson’s lies to Parliament.
Seven MPs, and one peer, are named in the report, which accused them of being part of an “unprecedented and coordinated” campaign to undermine the House of Commons.
Below are all those accused of being in contempt of Parliament, and what exactly they said.
Ms Dorries suggested that Tories on the Privileges Committee could be rewarded for sanctioning Boris Johnson— (UK Parliament)
Nadine Dorries
Perhaps Boris Johnson’s most vocal defender, criticism of the Privileges Committee from Ms Dorries was singled out as “particularly concerning”, given her role as a former culture minister.
In one instance, Ms Dorries suggested that Conservative MPs on the committee were in line to receive gongs or be rewarded with the chance to move to safe Tory seats.
She said: “We also need to keep a close eye on the careers of the Conservative MPs who sat on that committee. Do they suddenly find themselves on chicken runs into safe seats? Gongs? Were promises made? We need to know if they were. Justice has to be seen to be done at all levels of this process.”
In another, she suggested the Privileges Committee’s finding that Mr Johnson repeatedly lied to Parliament was predetermined. Speaking on her Talk TV show, she said: “I don’t think there was ever a world in which this committee was going to find Boris innocent.
“The committee have demonstrated very clearly that they have decided early on to find him guilty. The committee knew that they had not a shred of evidence to prove that he misled with intent.
“They changed the rules, lowered the bar and inserted the vague term reckless into the terms of reference.
“Boris Johnson will be found guilty by this kangaroo court. There is no doubt about that and that in itself will be a disgraceful and possibly unlawful conclusion with serious reputational consequences.”
In another post on Twitter, Ms Dorries said: “They have nothing. He protested his innocence all along and he was right. It was a gross miscarriage of justice, at the very least.”
And in the Daily Mail, she added: “This expert legal opinion shows that the inquiry was a biassed, Kafkaesque witch hunt – it should now be halted before it does any more damage.”
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg attacked the committee which ruled Boris Johnson had lied to Parliament— (EPA)
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg
Comments made by the former leader of the house were also singled out as “particularly concerning” by the committee because of his seniority.
Mr Rees-Mogg, given a knighthood in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours, had also described the Privileges Committee as a “kangaroo court”.
He told BBC Radio 4: “I think it makes kangaroo courts look respectable.”
And speaking on his GB News show, he said: “The Privileges Committee is not even a proper legal setup. It has a gossamer of constitutional propriety thrown over it, but it is in fact a political committee against Boris Johnson.”
The report said the committee’s work was made “more difficult” by Mr Rees-Mogg and Ms Dorries “mounting the most vociferous attacks” using their own TV shows.
Sir Michael Fabricant said the committee was ‘against Boris Johnson’— (Getty Images)
Sir Michael Fabricant
Also knighted by Mr Johnson, he accused the committee of “malice and prejudice”.
In a post on Twitter, the senior Tory MP wrote: ‘’Serious questions will need to be asked about the manner in which the investigation was conducted. These were no jurists as was apparent by the tone of the examination. The question of calibre, malice and prejudice will need to be answered now or by historians.’’
Dame Priti Patel is also among those criticised by the Privileges Committee (Yui Mok/PA)— (PA Archive)
Dame Priti Patel
Ms Patel, who served as home secretary under Mr Johnson and was made a dame in his resignation honours, was reprimanded over comments on GB News accusing some members of the committee of not being objective.
She said: “How can a handful of members of Parliament in a committee, you know, really be that objective in light of some of the individual comments that have been made? I don’t want to name people, but you know, it is a fact, the lack of transparency – the lack of accountability ... I think there is a culture of collusion quite frankly involved here.”
Andrea Jenkyns has been a staunch defender of Boris Johnson— (PA Archive)
Andrea Jenkyns
Another staunch supporter of Mr Johnson, Ms Jenkyns was included in the report for a Twitter post in March, which said: “I hope to see him fully exonerated and to put an end to this kangaroo court.”
Brendan Clarke-Smith said the Privileges Committee would ‘put a banana republic to shame’— (Parliament)
Brendan Clarke-Smith
Mr Clarke-Smith described the probe into whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs over Partygate as a “witch hunt which would put a banana republic to shame”.
He has said he felt “shocked and disappointed” to see himself mentioned in the fresh Partygate report .
The Twitter post which he was included for said: “Tonight we saw the end result of a parliamentary witch hunt which would put a banana republic to shame.
“It is the people of this country who elect and decide on their MPs. It’s called democracy and we used to value it here. Sadly this no longer appears to be the case.”
Conservative Mark Jenkinson was criticised for a tweet he said ‘did not refer’ to the committee— (The Independent)
Mark Jenkinson
Mr Jenkinson was also unhappy to have been criticised by the Privileges Committee, adding that his own tweet “did not refer to them”.
He suggested the committee had “performed a Twitter search for terms they don’t like and pasted them in a table”.
Mr Jenkinson was included for writing: “When the witch hunt has been forgotten, future generations will look back in astonishment.”
Tory peer Lord Zac Goldsmith has faced calls to be sacked following the report— (AFP via Getty Images)
Zac Goldsmith
The Tory Lord, a friend of Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie who was handed a peerage by the former PM, was criticised for reposting a tweet, also calling the inquiry a “witch hunt”.
Alongside the post, he added: “Exactly this. There was only ever going to be one outcome and the evidence was totally irrelevant to it.”
MPs will debate the fresh Partygate report on July 10, and will have to decide what, if any, sanctions to pass on Mr Johnson’s backers.
