LONDON (AP) – Britain’s House of Commons on Monday approved a report by a large majority that found Boris Johnson lied to MPs about parties in his office that were breaching the lockdown. It’s a humiliating rebuke that barred the former prime minister from the parliament of his lifetime.
MPs backed the finding that Johnson flouted Parliament by a vote of 354 to 7 after a debate saw many argue it was crucial to show voters that politicians have a duty to play by the rules and tell the truth .
“It’s important to show the public that there isn’t one rule for them and another for us,” said Conservative Party MP Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor as Prime Minister.
The leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, opened the five-hour debate, urging lawmakers “to do what they see fit”. Mordaunt, a Conservative like Johnson, said she would vote to support the Commons’ Privileges Committee report.
“This is important because the integrity of our institutions is important. The respect and trust shown to them is important,” she said. “This has real implications for MPs’ accountability to each other and to the members of the public they represent.”
A handful of Johnson allies spoke out to defend the former leader. MP Lia Nici said: “I cannot think of any evidence that Boris Johnson knowingly, intentionally or recklessly misled Parliament.”
But more Conservatives and all opposition MPs who took the floor said they would support the report. Many Conservative MPs were absent from the debate, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Wary of angering Johnson’s remaining supporters, he stayed away.
Max Blain, Sunak’s spokesman, said the prime minister had made “a number of commitments” including a meeting with the Swedish leader.
Johnson, who turned 59 on Monday, was also absent. He resigned as Prime Minister in September 2022 but remained a lawmaker until June 9, when he resigned after learning of the Privileges Committee’s findings.
Monday’s debate was the latest aftershock of the “Partygate” scandal involving gatherings at the Prime Minister’s headquarters at Downing Street and other government buildings in 2020 and 2021.
The revelation that political staffers have been holding birthday reunions, garden parties and “wine time Fridays” during the pandemic sparked anger from Brits who had abided by rules enacted to stem the spread of the coronavirus and were unable to make friends and family or even to say goodbye to dying relatives in hospitals.
Labor MP Chris Bryant said there was “a deep anger” among voters at Partygate.
Memories were revived this week when the Sunday Mirror newspaper published video showing staff drinking and dancing at an event at the Conservative Party headquarters in December 2020, which banned people from different households from meeting indoors.
London’s Metropolitan Police said they were reviewing footage of the event, which the BBC has dubbed the “Jingle and Mingle” Christmas party.
Johnson initially denied parties were taking place in the prime minister’s office, then repeatedly reassured lawmakers that pandemic rules and guidelines would be followed at all times. The committee concluded that these assurances were misleading and that Johnson had failed to correct the records when asked to do so.
It said Johnson had “misled, repeatedly, the House of Representatives on an issue of the utmost importance to the House of Representatives and the public.”
The panel – made up of four Conservatives and three Opposition MPs – said Johnson compounded the offense through his attacks on the committee, which he described as a “kangaroo court” engaged in a “witch hunt”.
It concluded that Johnson’s actions constituted such a blatant breach of the rules that they warranted a 90-day suspension of Parliament, one of the longest ever imposed. A suspension of ten days or more would have allowed his constituents to remove him from his seat in the House of Commons.
Johnson reacted furiously to the report, branding its conclusions “insane” and accusing its members of a “protracted political assassination.”
His resignation avoided suspension from Parliament – “at least for the time being,” he said, hinting at a possible comeback. That could prove difficult. As a result of Monday’s vote, he will be stripped of the lifetime ticket to Parliament buildings, which is customarily given to ex-MPs.
While some conservatives still laud Johnson as the charismatic populist who led the party to a landslide victory in 2019, others recall how his government was so scandal-ridden that he was ousted by his own party less than three years later .
“I’m so over Boris,” Conservative MP Bob Seely said in the House of Commons.
Johnson’s legacy worries Sunak, a fellow Conservative who took office in October vowing to restore professionalism and integrity to the government.
The Conservatives, who have been in power since 2010, are trailing the main opposition party, the Labor Party, in opinion polls, with elections due at the end of 2024.
Before that, the party must compete in four special elections for seats vacated by Johnson, two of his allies and a fourth Tory MP who resigned over sex and drug allegations.