LETTER FROM LONDON
Boris Johnson during his hearing by the House Privileges Committee in London March 22, 2023. The screen shows images of him toasting in Downing Street (central London) on November 13, 2021. PRU / AFP PHOTO
Despite not having been Prime Minister since the summer of 2022, postponing his appearances in the House of Commons despite still being an MP (he prefers to give generously paid speeches around the world), Boris Johnson again saturated the British media on Wednesday March 22. Much to the chagrin of current Downing Street tenant Rishi Sunak, who is dutifully working to restore seriousness to the Conservative Party ranks and fears that the ‘Johnson circus’ will once again endanger its slim, but not zero, chances at the Maintaining power will undermine the next federal election in 2024.
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Mr Johnson, the enfant terrible of British politics, faced his fate during a riverside hearing before the Privileges Committee of Parliament, an ad hoc formation charged with investigating the so-called “Partygate” scandal involving parties in Downing Street during the pandemic. The question is no longer whether these parties complied with the social distancing rules of the time – they broke them, is an independent report by official Sue Gray published in 2022. Police have also handed out more than a hundred fines to Downing Street staff, as well as Boris Johnson (and Rishi Sunak) for their participation.
The Privileges Committee wants to know whether the ex-Chairman knowingly lied to MPs while he was still in office, claiming on several occasions in the Commons in late 2021 and early 2022 that “all the rules had been met” during the detention “to everyone.” Time’ in Downing Street. Lying in the House of Commons without correcting your remarks as soon as possible is a serious breach of the rules of the UK Parliament and will be subject to sanctions – a suspension of several days or even several months.
“It was not right”
In February, the Privileges Commission published an interim report, stressing that it must have been “obvious” to the Prime Minister that the rules at Downing Street had not been respected. Suffice it to say that Mr Johnson, a politician known for his resilient relationship with truth, did not appear in a position of strength on Wednesday, despite being present at his side for adviser to Lord David Pannick, one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country. . The hearing was long and difficult for the ex-journalist, ex-Mayor of London and major Brexiteer, who failed to convince the members of the Commission definitively. Fighting, less clumsy than usual, he did not go under.
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