Theresa May tore into Boris Johnson tonight as she backed a report branding him a liar.
The former Prime Minister lashed out at her successor, who helped to topple her in summer 2019, as she backed the devastating Commons Privileges Committee report into how he repeatedly lied to MPs over Partygate.
Supporting the panel’s “rigorous” investigation as MPs debated its findings, Mrs May, who was Premier from July 2016 to July 2019, said: “This committee report matters, this debate matters and this vote matters.
“They matter because they strike at the heart of the bond of trust and respect between the public and Parliament that underpin the workings of this place and of our democracy."
The shamed former Prime Minister has already quit Parliament and blasted the scathing 108-page study as a “kangaroo court”.
It found he repeatedly misled Parliament over lockdown-busting parties in No10, first revealed by the Mirror.
Mrs May urged MPs to back the Committee's findings, saying: “If people see us making rules for them and acting as if they are not for us, that trust between the public and Parliament is undermined.”
She went on: “It is important to show the public that there is not one rule for them and another for us.
“Indeed, I believe we have a greater responsibility than most to uphold the rules and set an example.”
She called on other Tories to support the conclusions and recommendations, telling Conservatives they needed to demonstrate they could punish MPs if they break the rules.
“It is doubly important for us to show that we are prepared to act when one of our own, however senior, is found wanting,” she warned.
Shamed former Prime Minister Mr Johnson has already quit Parliament and blasted the scathing 108-page study as a “kangaroo court”.
Outlining the devastating analysis at the start of tonight’s debate, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt told MPs: “The Committee’s report found that Mr Johnson deliberately misled the House and Committee and in doing so committed a serious contempt.
"It also found that Mr Johnson breached confidence, undermined the democratic process of this House and was complicit in a campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee.
"It is for Members to decide whether these findings and conclusions and sanctions they propose are correct and reasonable, and that is the question in front of us today.”
The former PM has already skulked out of the Commons, triggering a by-election.
Had he not already quit, the Committee recommended he should face a 90–day suspension.
He resigned before the cross-party panel could publish its study - and blasted the process as a “kangaroo court”.
Shadow Commons Leader Thangam Debonnaire said: “Mr Johnson undermined and attacked our democratic institutions - a far cry from a Prime Minister this country can be proud of.
“He lied to this House, to the people of this country and, when exposed, lashed out at the system designed to hold him and all of us here to account.”
She added: “Telling the truth is the foundation of a functioning Parliament.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been branded “weak” for snubbing the Commons showdown.
He plans to attend a charity dinner instead.
Kicking off the debate, Ms Mordaunt confirmed she was backing the Committee’s report, adding: “Today, all Members should do what they think is right.”
Ms Debonnaire tore into the PM’s absence, storming: “He has shown he is too weak to stand up to Boris Johnson and his sycophants, which is profoundly dangerous because if we can’t have a Prime Minister that stands up for standards what have we got?”
She accused him “of mealy-mouthed” statements and failing to “set an example”, adding: “If the Prime Minister can't even show leadership when it comes to holding liars to account how can he expect the people of this country to trust him on anything?”
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