A cross-party investigation has found that the former Prime Minister made "repeated contempt" of parliament by misleading MPs over the partygate scandal.
If Boris Johnson didn't quit the Commons ahead of the publishing of the report, the Privilege Committee recommended a 90-day suspension which would likely have resulted in a by-election for his seat. Because of his resignation, Mr Johnson will avoid the punishment, however, the committee recommended that he not receive the pass granting access to Parliament - this is usually handed out to former MPs.
Despite this, Mr Johnson called the result a 'deranged conclusion' and added the 14-month investigation delivered “what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination”. The committed concluded that Mr Johnson deliberately misled MPs by insisting all rules had been followed in Downing Street.
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They added that he also committed contempt for undermining the democratic processes of the Commons and being "complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee". The committee said in the report: “We came to the view that some of Mr Johnson’s denials and explanations were so disingenuous that they were by their very nature deliberate attempts to mislead the committee and the House, while others demonstrated deliberation because of the frequency with which he closed his mind to the truth.”
Here are the five ways Mr Johnson misled the commons, according to its report...
The five ways Boris Johnson misled Parliament
Boris Johnson misled the Commons in five different ways, the Privileges Committee has found. 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”.
Attacking the committee’s findings, Mr Johnson said: “This is rubbish. It is a lie. This is a dreadful day for MPs and for democracy.”
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