By Ben Kerrigan-
Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament multiple times with his statements about parties in Downing Street during the COVID pandemic, a committee report has found.
He was also “deliberately disingenuous” when he tried to explain and “justify the gatherings” and breached the confidence of the committee.
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The privileges committee of MPs found Mr Johnson’s breaches serious enough to recommend a suspension of 90 days if he were still an MP – far exceeding the period needed to trigger a recall petition and possible by-election.
The detailed report, published this morning, concluded that Mr Johnson m isled MPs on multiple occasions by insisting all rules had been followed in Downing Street, despite lockdown-breaching parties.
The report stated that he committed further contempt in his conduct by impugning the committee , thereby undermining the democratic process of the House of Commons
The authors of the report said he was “complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee”
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In a further sanction, the committee also recommended that Mr Johnson should not be given a former member’s pass granting access to parliament following his resignation as an MP.
The findings and reaction of the committee could have serious ramifications for Johnson, who was only a few years ago the king of the tory party with the greatest majority ever of a prime minister.
The former prime minister has been under investigation by the Commons privileges committee since last June, after an investigation by police and then-senior civil servant Sue Gray confirmed a series of gatherings had taken place in Downing Street during lockdowns.
Johnson called the report a “protracted political assassination”.
The parties in 2020 and 2021 respectively, which were reportedly boozy affairs and in contravention of social distancing measures in place at the time, undermined his credibility and contributed to his downfall, the committee of lawmakers said.
The cross-party committee, led by Labour MP Harriet Harman, assessed whether Mr Johnson misled parliament – either recklessly or deliberately – with his statements claiming all COVID rules and guidance were followed by Number 10.
In a scathing 30,000 word assessment, the committee said that in “deliberately misleading the House Mr Johnson committed a serious contempt”.
“The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the prime minister, the most senior member of the government.
“There is no precedent for a prime minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House.”
The former prime minister immediately hit back at what he called a “deranged conclusion” and branded the committee’s report a “charade”, adding: “I was wrong to believe in the committee or its good faith.”
He took particular aim at Ms Harman, saying the “terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes – it is Harriet Harman and her committee”.
“This is a dreadful day for MPs and for democracy,” he said, adding its investigation had delivered “what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination”.
In coming to its conclusion, the MPs did not find Mr Johnson’s defence that no one had advised him the gatherings were against the rules as credible.
The ex-PM has repeatedly asserted he believed one Number 10 leaving do – where he was seen toasting colleagues to mark the departure of communications chief Lee Cain – was “absolutely essential for work purposes”.
However, the committee again found against him, saying it did not believe that “severe staff morale pressures during the COVID pandemic… in itself provided a licence for Mr Johnson’s conveniently flexible interpretation of the rules on gatherings, or the guidance on social distancing.”
Before the report Johnson had vowed to return to front line politics, though this report does everything to destroy his credibility.
Johnson still has a lot of support in parliament and was ripe for a comeback to rival Rishi Sunak during the last political contest following the quick departure of Liz Truss, but stepped down from the contest over the anticipation of this very report.
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