MPs today defended the integrity of the Parliamentary committee investigating Boris Johnson as it prepared to publish his dossier on claims he misled the Commons over partygate.
Lawyers representing the former prime minister have produced a lengthy submission which his allies say will vindicate him over allegations he intentionally misled the Commons over Covid lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.
Mr Johnson, forced out of No10 after he lost the confidence of Tory MPs last summer, is due to give evidence to the committee in a four-hour grilling on Wednesday, which could have a huge bearing on his political future.
Ahead of his appearance, the committee was today set to release Mr Johnson’s dossier which is likely to raise questions over the process and the impartiality of the committee’s Labour chairwoman Harriet Harman. But MPs from the three main parties criticised any attempt by Mr Johnson and his supporters to undermine the inquiry. Chris Bryant, Labour chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Standards, said: “Endless attacks on the process are in danger of being in contempt. I’ve said repeatedly from the very beginning that I’ve every confidence every member of the committee will follow the evidence.”
Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, said the pressure being placed on the committee made him feel “uncomfortable”. He said: “Most MPs will dismiss Johnson’s efforts to try and influence the committee. They realise the weight of responsibility on their shoulders”.
Lib Dem MP Richard Foord said: “The membership is made up of decent, honest people who will do the right thing.”
But one of Mr Johnson’s allies Nadine Dorries renewed the attack on Ms Harman. She tweeted: “Imagine if this was a court of law and HH [Harriet Harman] was judge?”
Mr Johnson’s defence is expected to include previously unrevealed WhatsApp messages from senior members of his team showing he relied on their advice when he gave statements to the Commons on partygate.
It is also set to raise questions over the role of former senior civil servant Sue Gray, who led the Whitehall probe into lockdown rule breaking in No10. She quit the civil service earlier this month to become Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
On the claims about Ms Harman, a spokesman for the Privileges Committee said: “The House of Commons as a whole approved a motion to appoint Harriet Harman to the committee. The other six members of the committee, which has a Government party majority, then elected Harriet Harman as chair unanimously.” After an interim report by the committee earlier this month said evidence strongly suggested breaches of coronavirus rules would have been “obvious” to the then-prime minister, Mr Johnson claimed it was “clear” that he had not committed a contempt of Parliament.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he is “confident he will be exonerated of any contempt. He did not knowingly mislead Parliament.” The Privileges Committee, which is made up of four Tory MPs, two from Labour and one from the SNP, will decide whether Mr Johnson misled the Commons before considering whether it was “reckless or intentional” and amounted to a contempt of Parliament. It will then make a recommendation on any punishment which will be voted on by the Commons with Tory MPs expected to be given a free vote by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
A suspension of 10 sitting days or more for Mr Johnson could ultimately trigger a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.
