A Tory peer and ally of Boris Johnson has called for Rishi Sunak to stop the inquiry investigating whether the former prime minister misled parliament over Partygate.
Mr Johnson, who is battling to save his political career this week ahead of a televised hearing on Wednesday, has submitted a dossier in his defence on Monday afternoon.
With allies of the former PM dubbing the inquiry a “witch hunt” and pressuring Tory MPs on the committee to quit, Lord Cruddas called on the prime minister to intervene “because there is a conflict of interest” over former civil servant Sue Gray.
He said: “The Privileges Committee should not proceed until the Sue Gray story around her report is cleared up. Stop treating the electorate with contempt.”
Mr Johnson has sought to cast doubt on the findings of Ms Gray’s report on Partygate, after she quit the civil service to take up a role in Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s office.
It comes after Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of trying to “discredit” the committee. The Labour leader backed an attack by his shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire, in which she warned it was vital the probe could be conducted “without intimidation”.
NEW: Boris hands over his Partygate defence dossier
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Boris Johnson’s written defence to allegations he lied to Parliament over his Partygate denials has been handed over to the cross-party privileges committee.
The Independent understands the committee wants to publish his dossier as soon as possible, but has to run through it and redact any names it does not want in the public domain.
No 10 warns Johnson allies against portraying inquiry as ‘witch hunt’
Downing Street has warned allies of Boris Johnson against interfering in the inquiry into whether he lied to parliament with his Partygate denials.
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman defended the Privileges Committee investigation as friends of the former prime minister sought to portray it as a “witch hunt”.
Tory peer Lord Greenhalgh backed a campaign for the four Conservative MPs on the Tory-majority committee to pull out of the “kangaroo court”.
The long-standing ally of Mr Johnson, who served under him at Westminster and City Hall, told Times Radio: “I’m concerned that it will be a witch hunt.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman responded by saying Mr Sunak “firmly believes it’s a matter for Parliament”, adding: “Parliament empowered the committee to carry out its work.”
No 10 denies delaying announcements because of Partygate probe
Downing Street has denied delaying announcements because of Boris Johnson’s scheduled Partygate grilling – as MPs were urged not to interfere with the privileges committee.
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said: “We think this is a committee that’s carrying out a function asked to by Parliament, it’s a parliamentary matter, and the Leader of the House set out how we would want parliamentarians to engage with it.”
Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt told MPs “a very dim view will be taken” about anyone who tries to prevent the work of the investigation into whether Mr Johnson lied to parliament.
Asked about a report of delays to announcements because of the potential for distraction caused by Mr Johnson’s evidence, the spokesperson said: “It’s not accurate.
“There is a large number of announcements being made this week, whether that’s on support for low-income households on energy, and obviously the vote on the Stormont brake on Wednesday so it is a significant week for government.
“It’s wrong to suggest government business changes as a result of this committee hearing.”
DUP’s Ian Paisley to vote against Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal and expects party to join him
Away from Partygate for a moment, senior DUP MP Ian Paisley has said he will vote against Rishi Sunak’s Brexit agreement with EU and expects his party colleagues to do the same, our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.
The prime minister faces a crucial Commons vote on the compromise deal on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
But Mr Paisley, one of the most outspoken critics of the framework, claimed it did not pass even one of the DUP’s seven tests on the protocol and said he would vote against it.
The hardliner told the Belfast News Letter: “I am categorically voting against, and I would be surprised if my colleagues do not join me.”
Watch: Parts of Tory party ‘delusional’ about Johnson, says ex-attorney general
Everything you need to know about the Partygate inquiry into Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson is being investigated over whether he misled parliament by repeatedly denying lockdown rules were broken in Downing Street.
The investigation into the former prime minister was launched by the privileges committee 11 months ago and earlier this month it published its initial findings, saying the Commons may have been misled multiple times.
My colleague Kate Plummer has everything you need to know about the inquiry:
Johnson defence ‘does not mention Sue Gray’s defection to Labour’
Boris Johnson will not mention civil servant Sue Gray’s defection to Labour in his submission to the privileges committee, according to The Times’s political editor.
Mr Johnson and his allies claim that the committee’s interim report relies on evidence gathered by Ms Gray during her Partygate probe finished in May 2022.
But the eight-person committee has made clear it has gathered evidence directly from witnesses, independent of Ms Gray’s report. And it is believed Labour did not approach Ms Gray about becoming Keir Starmer’s chief of staff until November.
Johnson ally criticises ‘kangaroo court’ ahead of Partygate hearings
Lord Greenhalgh – an ally of Mr Johnson and deputy mayor when the latter was in London’s City Hall – has backed the campaign by the Conservative Post website which calls for Tory MPs on the privileges committee to pull out of the “kangaroo court”.
Asked if he believes the four Tories should withdraw, he said he was worried about a “McCarthyite approach”, he told Times Radio: “I’m hoping as a parliamentarian that there will be fairness around this, that is my fervent hope. But if not, then the thing should not go ahead.”
A senior Tory figure warned Johnson loyalists that “any pressure put on members of the committee will be looked on very badly” by MPs and peers, telling The Independent: “People look at it as anti-democratic – if they push any further even sympathetic people will be offended.”
Read more here:
Johnson has ‘a lot of explaining to do’ on Wednesday, says ex-Tory attorney general
Boris Johnson has “a lot of explaining to do” when he faces MPs on Wednesday, Former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve has said.
Mr Grieve, who was sacked by Mr Johnson over Brexit in 2019, told Sky News: “Mr Johnson certainly does appear to have a considerable problem. He attended some of the gatherings which were parties, and yet he said that there weren’t any gatherings.
“And it’s a bit difficult therefore to understand how he didn’t know that there had been parties going on at Number 10 Downing Street.
“So Mr Johnson’s got a lot of explaining to do, and of course that is against the background of somebody who has a serial reputation for telling untruths whenever it suits him.”
Starmer accuses Johnson of trying to ‘intimidate’ MPs on Partygate committee
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of trying to “intimidate” MPs investigating him over the Partygate scandal.
The Labour leader has given his full backing to an attack on Mr Johnson’s response to the inquiry by shadow minister Thangam Debbinaire, who claimed the former PM had shown “utter disdain for standards in public life” by trying to “discredit” the committee investigating him.
Ms Debbonaire, Labour’s shadow Commons leader, said on Sunday: “Boris Johnson’s attempts to discredit the inquiry shows the utter disdain he has for standards in public life. It’s vital that this well-respected committee, a majority of whom are Tory MPs, can carry out their evidence session without intimidation.”
My colleagues Thomas Kingsley and Adam Forrest have our exclusive report:
