Rishi Sunak faces bitter Tory infighting erupting in public when MPs vote on whether to approve a damning report which found Boris Johnson committed “repeated contempts” of Parliament.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt confirmed that the Privileges Committee’s findings will be debated on Monday June 19 – the same date as Mr Johnson’s 59th birthday.
MPs are expected to have a free vote, which is likely to expose rifts between Conservative MPs who back the former prime minister and those who want to see him being sanctioned.
Blue-on-blue sniping has already begun, with arch-Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries calling for Tories who vote against Mr Johnson to be kicked out of the party.
The former culture secretary, who announced her intention to resign as an MP after being struck off Mr Johnson’s honours list, tweeted: “Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow. It’s serious.”
But another close ally of Mr Johnson, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the Commons will “inevitably” vote in favour of the Privileges Committee report.
“Inevitably Boris will lose the vote because you have the whole of the Opposition against him… but you also have the Boris haters in the Conservative Party,” the former Cabinet minister told Sky News.
Ms Mordaunt said the motion will “ask the House to approve” the report and will be amendable.
She advised MPs to read the report before taking a decision in a process she described as “painful” and “sad”, adding: “But all of us must do what we think is right and others must leave us alone to do so.”
Downing Street declined to be drawn on how Mr Sunak will vote, or whether he will even be in Parliament to participate in it on Monday.
Asked whether he agrees with the conclusions of the Tory-majority committee, a No 10 spokesman said the Prime Minister had not yet had a chance to read their 30,000-word document.
“He intends to take the time to fully consider the report,” the official told reporters.
Avoiding the vote could be convenient for Mr Sunak if he does not want to anger the Tory party membership, where levels of support have remained higher than the wider public.
But this could be risky with voters as a snap YouGov survey of more than 3,000 adults on Thursday suggested nearly seven in 10 believe Mr Johnson knowingly misled Parliament.
That included just over half of voters who chose the Tory party under Mr Johnson in the 2019 general election.
Other Tory MPs could also choose to abstain, as they have been told the vote will be a one-line whip, meaning they will not be obliged to participate.
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith and former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke were among Mr Johnson’s allies to indicate they would vote against the report, with the latter saying “this punishment is absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness”.
The committee recommended a 90-day suspension for Mr Johnson, which he will escape after resigning as an MP, and said he should not receive a pass granting access to Parliament which is normally given to former members.
Mr Johnson was said to have deliberately misled MPs with his partygate denials and accused of being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation, with the former prime minister hitting out at the “deranged conclusion”.
Ms Mordaunt told the Commons: “My advice to all MPs, having had the committee carry out the work we asked them to do, is to read the report, is to make their own judgments about it and take the task that is our privilege to do seriously and soberly, and members should use their own judgment on that.”
These are difficult matters for the House. We have to look at the evidence, we have to look at the report, but we're talking about people who are friends and colleagues. It will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us, the task that we face on Monday— Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House
She added: “These are difficult matters for the House. We have to look at the evidence, we have to look at the report, but we’re talking about people who are friends and colleagues. It will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us, the task that we face on Monday.
“But all of us must do what we think is right and others must leave us alone to do so.”
Ms Mordaunt’s remarks came in response to shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire, with the Conservative MP noting that her Labour counterpart had focused on “wrongs and gongs”.
Ms Debbonaire earlier said: “Boris Johnson lied. He lied to MPs. He lied to the people of this country. He lied to nurses, doctors, care workers, bus drivers, everyone who was putting their own lives at risk during the pandemic.
“Why does this matter? Because people sacrificed so much and they deserved a prime minister who values truth and honour, one who leads by example, and it turns out they didn’t have one.”
