DANIEL JOHNSON: Boris Johnson has done nothing to warrant this shameful stitch-up… It has more in common with the witch-hunts of Salem
Nothing offends the British notion of fair play more grievously than kicking a man when he is down.
Yet that is exactly what the seven MPs who make up the Commons privileges committee propose to do to the Prime Minister.
Ignoring the fact that Boris Johnson has already been forced to resign by his own party, these MPs are about to conduct yet another inquiry into ‘Partygate’ – despite the fact Sue Gray and the Metropolitan Police have already investigated Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street.
Following Miss Gray’s report, Boris apologised to the House for inadvertently misleading MPs. He also paid a fine for attending a birthday party during lockdown.
That should have been the end of the matter. But the Boris-haters refuse to end their vendetta.
Not content with forcing him out of No10, they are determined to drive him out of the Commons too.
‘Boris Johnson himself must expect to be grilled by the committee, not only about the parties (most of which he did not attend), but about anything the probe may turn up. By then no longer PM, he would face this ordeal alone, without officials or counsel to advise him’
The committee was supposed to establish whether or not the PM committed a contempt of Parliament by intentionally misleading the House. It now claims that it could potentially find him guilty of contempt even if there was no intention to mislead.
In other words, the panel has moved the goalposts. There is a world of difference between an innocent mistake and a deliberate lie.
Even more worrying is the composition of the committee. It is supposed to be impartial, but is packed with the PM’s enemies. Quite apart from the three members drawn from the Opposition benches – two Labour and one SNP – three of the four Conservative MPs are longstanding Boris critics.
The committee’s original chairman, Labour MP Chris Bryant, had been so vociferous in his condemnation of Boris that he rightly recused himself rather than give the appearance of pre-judging the verdict.
But his replacement, Harriet Harman, is no less prejudiced against the PM. The Mother of the House – so-called because she is the longest-serving female MP – retweeted claims that he ‘lied repeatedly’, ‘knowingly lied’ and ‘misled the House’.
As an ex-barrister, Miss Harman ought to know that in a court of law such partisan conduct would instantly disqualify her from sitting in judgment.
Yet this so-called inquiry has no intention of giving Boris Johnson a fair trial. It has more in common with the witch-hunts of Salem or the show trials of Stalin’s Soviet Union.
The committee is already demanding unprecedented access to Downing Street and its records, the PM’s diaries, WhatsApp messages and any other evidence that it deems relevant. Such an open-ended investigation looks suspiciously like a fishing expedition.
Boris Johnson himself must expect to be grilled by the committee, not only about the parties (most of which he did not attend), but about anything the probe may turn up. By then no longer PM, he would face this ordeal alone, without officials or counsel to advise him.
‘The committee’s original chairman, Labour MP Chris Bryant, had been so vociferous in his condemnation of Boris that he rightly recused himself’
Given that Boris has already apologised to the Commons, the result would be a foregone conclusion: he would be found guilty of misleading the House and therefore of contempt of Parliament.
The only outstanding issue would be the severity of the punishment. Given the hostility of its membership, the committee could be expected to impose a suspension from the House of at least ten days.
That sentence would mean a recall petition in Mr Johnson’s constituency. If more than 10 per cent of eligible registered voters signed the petition, they would trigger a by-election.
By the autumn, with a cost of living crunch and an impending recession, even Boris would struggle to hold his marginal seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
This is hardly a scenario that Liz Truss, or Rishi Sunak, would relish confronting so soon after taking over at No10. Such a defeat would not only be the ultimate humiliation for Boris, but a nightmare for his successor.
I cannot recall a precedent for hounding a former prime minister in the manner now proposed by the privileges committee. Not even Lloyd George, whose personal conduct makes Boris Johnson look like Mother Teresa, was pursued after leaving office.
Boris Johnson may be beset by foes in Westminster and the media, but he is still popular in the Conservative Party and the country. Voters will be unforgiving if ministers throw the leader to whom they owe so much under a bus.
Fair play and common sense may yet prevail. Elder statesmen, such as Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have tabled a Commons motion calling for the inquiry to be ‘discontinued’.
If the senior Tory on the committee, Sir Bernard Jenkin, joined them, it would surely pull the plug on this flagrant abuse of parliamentary procedure.
I know Sir Bernard to be a decent man. He must now do the right thing. Above all, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak should speak up too.
Whether or not you think – as I do – that Boris deserves the nation’s gratitude, he has done nothing to warrant this shameful stitch-up.
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