Boris Johnson has been sent the findings of the Commons Partygate probe which will determine his future as an MP.
The former prime minister has been given a draft of the Privileges Committee’s report and has two weeks to respond. The committee will then consider Mr Johnson’s response before giving a recommendation to Parliament on any potential sanctions. MPs will then vote on whether to approve the committee’s findings.
Under the terms of the inquiry, which is investigating whether Mr Johnson misled Parliament over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic, the committee said it would give the former prime minister a chance to respond to any criticisms raised in the report.
A spokesman for the committee said: “The committee is proceeding in accordance with its previously published procedure. Under that procedure, if the Committee decides to criticise Mr Johnson, it will not come to a final conclusion until it has taken into account any further submissions from Mr Johnson.
“The committee will then report to the House in the usual way, and it will be for the House- not the committee- to decide on this matter.”
A sanction of 10 days or more could destroy Mr Johnson’s political future, threatening to spark a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
The cross-party committee’s investigation – which began 14 months ago – was delayed by the emergence of new evidence showing potential lockdown breaches by Mr Johnson.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has previously insisted mid-pandemic gatherings in Downing Street were ‘essential
One of the potential breaches reported this week involved the couple hosting a close friend at Chequers while some coronavirus restrictions were still in place.
The former prime minister and his then-pregnant wife are said to have invited corporate events organiser Dixie Maloney to the Buckinghamshire country mansion on 7 May 2021, the Guardian reported. The couple and Ms Maloney denied any laws were broken.
Mr Johnson has also insisted mid-pandemic gatherings in Downing Street were “essential”, as he swore “hand on heart” to tell the truth to the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs.
The former prime minister told the Privileges Committee in March he had been “misremembering” when claiming during partygate that rules had been followed at all times.
Mr Johnson swore on the Bible to tell the truth before issuing an apology and adding: “I’m here to say to you, hand on heart, I did not lie to the House.
“When those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.”
Mr Johnson has defended various rule-breaking events, including his birthday party for which he was fined, as being “necessary for work purposes”.
