Rishi Sunak insisted on Tuesday that he won’t be distracted by the Boris Johnson partygate storm as he sought to focus on his key priorities for Britain.
His comments came as the former prime minister was preparing to face a four-hour grilling on Wednesday by the Commons privileges committee, which is looking into whether he misled Parliament over statements to MPs on lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street when he was in power.
The committee on Tuesday published a lengthy dossier by Mr Johnson’s lawyers which sets out his case.
If the committee finds he recklessly or intentionally misled MPs, Mr Johnson could be found in contempt of Parliament, potentially leading to suspension from the Commons and dealing a major blow to his hopes of a return to No10.
Pollsters have warned that a return of the Conservative party’s civil war over Mr Johnson could derail Mr Sunak’s hopes of leading a Tory revival ahead of a general election next year.
And while the Prime Minister said he won’t whip Tory MPs to vote down any punishment recommended against Mr Johnson, he told BBC Breakfast the country wanted him to focus on tackling issues like the cost-of-living crisis.
Asked about claims by Mr Johnson’s allies that the process is a “witch hunt”, Mr Sunak said: “That’s ultimately something for Boris Johnson and he’ll have the committee process to go through and that’s a matter for Parliament.
“That’s not what I’m focused on. We’ve been talking about really important things; how do we help people with the cost of living, how do we stop the boats because those are the priorities for the British people. That is what the country wants me to focus on.”
But Johnson loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg labelled the committee’s investigation a “political hatchet job”, as Transport Secretary Mark Harper urged MPs to allow the committee to “get on and do their work”.
