A Nottinghamshire MP could be suspended from Parliament after a report accused him and other Conservatives of trying to "interfere" with an investigation into Boris Johnson. Brendan Clarke-Smith, a former Nottingham councillor who has served as Bassetlaw's MP since 2019, served as a minister under Boris Johnson and has continued his public support of the former Prime Minister since he left Downing Street.
This support has included criticisms of a House of Commons committee which investigated whether Mr Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown parties in Number 10. The Privileges Committee published its findings in early June and ruled that Mr Johnson did mislead the House of Commons, recommending a suspension of 90 days.
This proposal became redundant after Mr Johnson resigned as an MP before the report was published. But the former Prime Minister will lose his parliamentary pass, usually afforded to former MPs.
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Most Nottinghamshire MPs did not vote on whether to accept the Privileges Committee's initial report, with some unable to attend and some unable to do so for procedural reasons. But Brendan Clarke-Smith has now become embroiled in the saga after being named in a report which criticises some Conservative MPs for launching "attacks" on the work of the Privileges Committee.
The committee itself published this latest report on June 29, naming eight MPs who had made the most "disturbing" attacks on its work. The example highlighted in relation to Mr Clarke-Smith was a tweet posted on June 9 which said: "Tonight we saw the end result of a parliamentary witch-hunt which would put a banana republic to shame.
"It is the people of this country who elect and decide on their MPs. It's called democracy and we used to value it here. Sadly this no longer appears to be the case."
The eight MPs named in the report could now face punishment, with the House of Commons due to take a vote on July 10. The vote will see MPs deciding what sanctions, if any, to take - with a suspension from Parliament possible.
Other MPs named in the report include Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and Zac Goldsmith. The latter resigned as a Government minister on Friday (July 30) though said this was not to do with the Privileges Committee report, instead blaming the Government's "apathy" on climate change.
Reacting to being one of the eight MPs named in the latest report, Mr Clarke-Smith tweeted: "Members of Parliament fulfil an important role in society and it is absolutely vital that they are able to scrutinise and comment on any matters relating to their work.
"Having fully respected the processes before me and at no point referring to the committee whilst preparing their previous work, I am shocked and disappointed to be named in this new report. This raises serious questions about free speech in a democratic society and my colleagues and I will continue to defend these principles going forward."
