Boris Johnson Denied Special Access to UK Parliament as MPs Endorse Report which Said he Lied

(CTN News) – After MPs backed the privileges committee’s report that Boris Johnson lied about parties in Downing Street during the COVID outbreak, he was removed from exclusive access to parliament.

Lawmakers approved the report’s conclusions by a margin of 354 to 7. 118 Conservatives voted in favor of the report, while 225 others didn’t bother to cast a ballot.

The study found that the former prime minister repeatedly lied to parliament about meetings in Number 10 during the lockdown, and on Monday afternoon, MPs were asked to review the report during a debate in the Commons.

Earlier in the day, it was unclear whether the report would be voted on, but after hearing cries of “no” from the Chamber, a vote was taken.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Chief Whip Simon Hart, and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt were among the eight cabinet ministers who voted in favor of the privileges committee report.

On Tuesday morning, they’ll attend the regular cabinet meeting in Downing Street alongside their nonvoting colleagues like Rishi Sunak.

Committee Recommends Suspension and Revocation of Boris Johnson’s Parliamentary Access

Seven Conservative MPs (Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey, Desmond Swayne, and Heather Wheeler) voted against the report.

If Boris Johnson had not resigned as an MP only days before, the committee would have recommended that he suffer a 90-day suspension from the Commons.

His supporters were outraged by the recommendation that he be denied admission to parliament as a former member.

Several Conservative MPs, including Boris Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May, stood during the discussion to denounce him. May later complimented the committee for its “rigorous” assessment.

“It is not easy to sit in judgement on friends and colleagues,” she admitted, “but friendship, working together, should not get in the way of doing what is right.”

I applaud the committee’s diligence and gracefully handling attacks on their character. This House owes a debt of gratitude to the committee members for their dedication and hard work.

Conservative members who participated in the investigation were congratulated by Harriet Harman, the Labour leader of the committee whom Boris Johnson accused of holding a “kangaroo court,” for their “outstanding dedication and commitment.”

She stated, “They’ve had to put up with a campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment designed to question the legitimacy of the inquiry, to drive them off the committee, and to thwart the intention of the House that this inquiry should be carried out.”

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, an admirer of Boris Johnson, questioned Ms. Harman’s fitness to chair the probe in light of her negative tweets about the ex-prime minister.

Challenges to Harman’s Leadership Addressed, Assuring Confidence in Committee’s Work

Ms. Harman, however, stated that she had volunteered to step down as committee chair and had first verified that the government was okay with her serving in that capacity.

She said, “I need the whole House of have confidence in the work that the committee has mandated, and so I said I am more than happy to step aside if the government doesn’t have confidence in me.”

“I was assured that I should continue the work that the House had mandated with the appointment that the House had put into place, and so I did just that.”

At another point in his remarks, Sir Jacob, knighted as part of Boris Johnson’s controversial list of resignation honors, called it “ridiculous” to deny Boris Johnson’s entrance to parliament as a former MP.

Further, he called “vindictive” the committee’s proposed sentence of a 90-day ban from parliament.

It is “absolutely legitimate to criticise the conduct of a committee, to criticise the members of a committee,” he assured lawmakers, adding, “That is politics.”

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