Rishi Sunak has committed to giving Tory MPs the freedom to decide Boris Johnson’s fate ahead of his live TV grilling on whether he lied over Partygate.
The prime minister suggested on Monday he would not use the Tory whip to exert pressure on his colleagues to go easy on his predecessor as he faces a possible suspension.
Mr Johnson is scheduled to appear before the cross-party privilege committee next week so he can be questioned over whether he deliberately misled parliament about parties at No 10.
If the cross-party group of MPs rules he did, they could recommend a suspension that may ultimately lead to a by-election for Mr Johnson in his Uxbridge and Ruislip constituency.
But speaking to broadcasters during a visit to the US, Mr Sunak insisted he would not try to influence Tory MPs on the committee not to impose a large punishment.
“That wouldn’t be right,” Mr Sunak told ITV News.
Asked if he was not concerned that a suspension could trigger a by-election, Mr Sunak added: “This is a matter for parliament, for the House. It’s not right for the government to get involved.”
If found to have lied to parliament and suspended for more than 10 days, MPs would have to vote to agree on the sanction. He could be forced to face a recall petition by constituents that would trigger a by-election.
The taxpayer is already set to contribute more than £222,000 in legal fees for the former PM as he faces a grilling over whether he lied to parliament on Covid parties.
Mr Johnson has been accused of acting like Donald Trump in his efforts to undermine the inquiry, after he claimd MPs were basing their work report by Sue Gray – the top civil servant set to be appointed Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak brushed off criticisms of his new private heated swimming pool at a time when many families are struggling to keep their homes warm.
It emerged at the weekend that a 40ft pool built in the grounds of his constituency home in North Yorkshire used so much energy the local electricity network had to be upgraded.
But the PM dismissed suggestions he was “detached” from the concerns of ordinary voters.
“I absolutely understand that the number one challenge people are facing is with the cost of living and particularly energy bills,” he told BBC News. “So what do I do? We tax energy companies more and we’ve used that money to reduce people’s energy bills by £1,000.”
Mr Sunak also hinted that the UK could follow in the US and the EU footsteps by banning the popular social media app TikTok on government devices.
The PM said Britain would “look at what our allies are doing” when it came to reviewing the presence of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform on staff equipment.
It comes after the Sunday Times reported that experts at GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre had assessed the app and identified risks to sensitive information.
Mr Sunak also said he was “pleased” that the dispute between Gary Lineker and the BBC had been resolved.
Asked whether there was an issue of political bias at the corporation, the PM said: “No – it’s right that the BBC is impartial and it takes its obligations on impartiality very seriously.”
