The witch hunt continues: No10 officials turn on Boris Johnson saying they are prepared to tell Partygate probe that he DID mislead Parliament as pressure grows on Tories including Bernard Jenkin to quit investigation over attack on ‘dishonest philanderer’
- Sir Bernard Jenkin is one of three remaining Tory MPs on Privileges Committee
- In recent months he has taken aim at the PM over alleged lockdown breaches
- He also allegedly suggested Mr Johnson joining Vote Leave would be a ‘disaster’
- Friends of PM suggest his past comments make it difficult to justify his position
Senior No10 officials are willing to turn on Boris Johnson and admit he did mislead Parliament over what he new about Partygate lawbreaking.
Three members of staff who worked with the PM have indicated they could give evidence to a Parliamentary probe that his supporters claim is a ‘witch hunt’ against him.
A seven-strong group of MPs is investigating whether Mr Johnson deliberated or unintentionally misled the Commons over Covid lawbreaking rife in No10.
It is examining the background to how he came to tell MPs ‘no Covid rules were broken’ and ‘all guidance was followed in No 10’, when he himself was later among those fined by police.
Mr Johnson argues that he made the statements at the despatch box in good faith based on his belief at the time.
The Telegraph today reports that one staff member is willing to give evidence tot eh inquiry led by Labour grandee Harriet Harman, with two others considering it.
Allies of the Prime Minister have previously attacked the ‘kangaroo court’ probe by the Commons privileges committee.
Boris Johnson pictured giving a statement to Slovenian media yesterday during his honeymoon in the country with wife Carrie
Sir Bernard Jenkin (pictured) is one of three remaining Conservative MPs on the Commons Privileges Committee
His stinging words
‘He’s dishonest, a philanderer’ – what Sir Bernard allegedly told Dominic Cummings about Boris Johnson before the Brexit referendum.
He says he had no recollection of using these words
‘The backbenches of the Conservative Party need no reminders about how to dispose of a failing leader’ – to the Commons in January
‘We are looking for a change in the capability and the character of the Government so that we can have confidence that nothing as clumsy or mortifying as this Partygate episode could ever happen again’ – to Sky News in February
‘There’s no question, it’s over for Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
‘And I went to tell him that yesterday at lunchtime yesterday after Prime Minister’s Questions… I just said to him, ‘look it’s just when you go now and it’s how you go, you can go with some dignity or you can be forced out like Donald Trump clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost’ – to BBC Radio 4 last month
They said the committee’s remit had been ‘rewritten in order to facilitate a guilty verdict’ before it even began work.
The inquiry’s broad terms of reference mean the PM can be found in contempt for unintentionally misleading the Commons about lockdown-busting Downing Street gatherings – even if he did not deliberately lie.
And despite already resigning from No 10, Mr Johnson could be kicked out as an MP if the seven-strong committee rules against him.
Last night a senior Tory MP on the committee faced calls to quit the inquiry team after it was claimed that he labelled the Prime Minister ‘dishonest’.
Sir Bernard Jenkin is one of three remaining Conservative MPs on the Commons Privileges Committee, which is looking into whether Mr Johnson misled Parliament.
In recent months he has taken aim at the PM over alleged lockdown breaches. He even suggested Mr Johnson should resign with dignity rather than being ‘forced out like Donald Trump clinging to power’.
It has now emerged that Sir Bernard, a leading Brexiteer and former Tory deputy chairman, allegedly suggested that Mr Johnson joining the Vote Leave camp ahead of the 2016 EU referendum would be a ‘disaster’.
In 2017, ex-No 10 aide Dominic Cummings told author Harry Mount: ‘Bernard Jenkin said to me, ‘I don’t think Michael [Gove] will come over. But if he does come over, Boris will come over and that will be a disaster.’
According to the book, Summer Madness, Sir Bernard called Mr Johnson ‘dishonest’ and a ‘philanderer’.
Friends of the Prime Minister yesterday suggested that the senior Tory MP’s past comments make it difficult to justify his position on the committee.
One said: ‘Bernard’s long had a big issue with Boris. He can’t possibly give a fair hearing when this shows he’s already made up his mind about him.’
But last night Sir Bernard denied making the comments, saying: ‘I have no recollection of using these words. I would not have used the word ‘philanderer’.’
Sir Bernard, the MP for Harwich and North Essex, has not given Mr Johnson an easy ride during his time as chairman of the Liaison Committee, which questions the PM several times a year.
Last month he chaired a particularly humiliating session where he allowed a Labour MP to announce the resignation of members of Mr Johnson’s Government on live television as they happened.
In January – as revelations about various Downing Street parties began to emerge – Sir Bernard warned the Commons: ‘The backbenches of the Conservative Party need no reminders about how to dispose of a failing leader.’
He told the PM to resign in early July, saying: ‘I just said to him: ‘Look, it’s just when you go now and it’s how you go, you can go with some dignity or you can be forced out like Donald Trump clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost.’
Nadine Dorries, who has called for the Tory MPs on the committee to step down, said: ‘The collective hatred of Labour MPs towards Boris Johnson for delivering Brexit and an 80-seat majority for the Government by taking traditional Labour seats knows no bounds.
‘This Machiavellian inquiry is the means to a by-election and Conservative MPs should have no part in it.’
Conservative peer Baroness Foster said: ‘No problem with scrutiny – but just look at the group who are supposed to be doing it.
‘What possible information do they have which has not already been in the public domain?’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said No 10 will continue to assist the inquiry.
Mr Johnson could be found in contempt for unintentionally misleading the Commons about lockdown-busting gatherings even if he did not deliberately lie – and could be sacked as an MP.
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