Boris Johnson has vowed to launch an unprecedented attack on a parliamentary probe into Partygate widely expected to be so damning it is predicted to finally end his hopes of a political comeback.
Hours after it emerged an 11th-hour appeal from the former prime minister had delayed the publication of its findings, Mr Johnson said they should be released so “the world” could judge the “nonsense”.
In a warning to MPs who conducted the probe, including Tory MPs, he said: “The Privileges Committee should publish their report and let the world judge their nonsense. They have no excuse for delay. Their absurdly unfair rules do not even allow any criticism of their findings.”
Adding: “I have made my views clear to the committee in writing – and will do so more widely when they finally publish.”
The former prime minister sent a letter to parliament’s Privileges Committee, which has carried out the investigation, at 11.57pm on Monday containing “further representations” for it to consider.
The committee said it would deal with Mr Johnson’s letter and “report promptly”, but the late-night intervention pushed back the widely anticipated report yet again.
A source close to Mr Johnson told The Times he believes the committee has “no evidential basis” for its criticism of the former PM. The rebuttal put forward by Mr Johnson and his lawyers will deal with the matters raised in the report “in a very thorough manner,” the source added .
A separate source told the paper Mr Johnson’s submission would not change the committee’s conclusions, adding that it was “an open and shut case”.
It is believed to have concluded officials did not tell Mr Johnson all rules and guidance were followed in No10 during the pandemic, a claim he made repeatedly in the Commons.
The last-minute submission also raised fresh questions over the former prime minister’s behaviour, coming as it did just days after Mr Johnson branded the committee a “kangaroo court” not worth engaging with.
He claimed to have been the victim of a “political hit job” with “no formal ability to challenge anything they say”.
The findings, which follow a year-long investigation by the Privileges Committee into whether Mr Johnson deliberately or recklessly misled MPs over Partygate, are now expected as soon as Thursday.
MPs are expected to have concluded Mr Johnson is guilty and – had he not resigned – he would have faced a suspension long enough to trigger a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
As tensions flared ahead of the publication, Mr Johnson’s allies urged Tory MPs to revolt when it is presented to the Commons. It came as:
- It emerged that Mr Johnson had been warned by one of his most senior officials not to claim social distancing guidelines were followed at Downing Street gatherings
- Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries claimed she was “bullied” by No 10 after not being given a peerage
- The official Covid inquiry was told the government’s focus on Brexit “crowded out and prevented” the work that was needed to prepare for the next pandemic
The Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), a grassroots group of Mr Johnson’s staunchest supporters, warned the party’s MPs not to endorse the Privileges Committee’s findings or any recommended sanctions.
Former Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman, chairman of the CDO, encouraged Tory MPs to “show their deep misgivings” about the committee’s treatment of the former PM.
“We would hope Conservative MPs will not endorse that behaviour and will support due process and the rule of law by voting against. The public will be watching,” he told The Independent.
And Claire Bullivant, the CDO’s chief executive, said: “Any MP who believes in democracy and fair play should vote against this sham. Any MP with an ounce of integrity must make clear their disapproval of the report.”
The inquiry was launched after a motion last April backed unanimously by MPs.
Once the committee publishes its report, MPs will debate it and decide whether to accept or reject its findings.
Sources close to the committee said MPs could avoid a spectacle by unanimously waving it through, but suggested supporters of Mr Johnson may object – embroiling the party in a further day of turmoil.
And despite backers of the former PM agitating for a rebellion, a former minister said the majority of Tory MPs wanted to draw a line under the Johnson era, especially following the turmoil of the last few days: “We are all just hoping that this abusive relationship is coming to an end.”
The report is expected to rely on an appearance by Mr Johnson at PMQs in December 2021 during which he claimed “the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times” in Downing Street.
The committee believes this is evidence he deliberately misled parliament, having been warned by an aide earlier that day to not “argue that all guidance had been followed at all times”.
As he dramatically quit as an MP last Friday, Mr Johnson used his 1,000-word exit statement to leave the door open for a return to Westminster.
In a furious outburst, in which he attacked the committee and Rishi Sunak, Mr Johnson said he was leaving parliament “for now”.
The days since have been rife with speculation about whether he could try to stand elsewhere at the next general election, with ally Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was honoured in Mr Johnson’s resignation list, claiming the former PM could “easily get back into parliament at the next election” – meaning he would return next year.
