Boris Johnson submits defence over claims he misled Parliament over Partygate
20 March 2023, 15:07
Boris Johnson has submitted his defence in the inquiry over whether he lied to Parliament over Partygate.
It is still unclear if it will be published today, with the ex-PM said to be keen to have it put out.
The Privileges Committee will decide when it is published, with Mr Johnson due to be grilled by it on Wednesday.
"Boris's formal submission has been made to the committee today, as planned," said a source close to Mr Johnson.
"The committee control the timing of publication. We encourage them to publish it as soon as possible."
Mr Johnson's allies have been queuing up to embroil the investigation into whether he misled Parliament into controversy.
They have branded it a "witch hunt", having also spent recent weeks trying to call into question the impartiality of Sue Gray, the senior civil servant who was appointed to investigate the saga in the first place.
She has been lined up for a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.
Conor Burns, a former minister from Mr Johnson's time in No10, branded the Privileges Committee investigation a "kangaroo court" and joined calls for the four Tory MPs on the Conservative-majority committee to withdraw from the probe.
But backing for Mr Johnson against such serious accusations is far from universal in the party.
Rishi Sunak, Mr Johnson's chancellor, whose departure precipitated dozens of resignations that brought his boss down, believes "it's a matter for Parliament|", his spokesman said.
He agreed with Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, who said a "very dim view" would be taken of people who try to "prevent them from carrying out this serious work".
Mr Johnson has access to some £220,000 of taxpayers' money to fight his case, it is estimated.
His friends say he will be "vindicated".
But if MPs find he did mislead the Commons, they will need to consider if it was "reckless or intentional" and met the threshold for contempt of Parliament.
If that is accepted, he could face a punishment to be decided by the Commons, which could include a lengthy suspension that might even trigger a by-election in his Uxbridge seat.
