Partygate: privileges committee accuses seven Tory MPs and three peers of trying to interfere with its Johnson inquiry – UK politics live | Politics

The Commons privileges committee says the campaign against its Boris Johnson inquiry waged by some of his supporters had a “significant personal impact” on members of the committee. In the report it says:

Pressure was applied particularly to Conservative members of the committee. This had the clear intention to drive those members off the Committee and so to frustrate the intention of the house that the inquiry should be carried out, or to prevent the inquiry coming to a conclusion which the critics did not want. There were also sustained attempts to undermine and challenge the impartiality of the chair [Harriet Harman], who had been appointed to the committee by unanimous decision of the house.

This unprecedented and co-ordinated pressure did not affect the conduct or outcome of our inquiry. However, it had significant personal impact on individual members and raised significant security concerns.

If abuse of members who are carrying out the duties imposed on them by the house is allowed to continue, it is reasonable to conclude that in future Members would decline to serve on the committee, or there might be a reluctance on the part of individuals approached as external advisers to serve in that role. If that happens, rather than making its decisions with the assistance of a report from a committee which can take advice and gather and evaluate evidence, the house might feel compelled to cede to an external authority the responsibility for protection of its rights and privileges.

The Commons privileges committee is not directly calling for sanctions against the MPs it says interfered with its Boris Johnson inquiry. And the Commons does not have the power to sanction peers anyway. But it does want the Commons to pass a motion that would back up the criticism in the report of the conduct of some of Boris Johnson’s allies.

It also says the Commons should consider if “further action” needs to be taken against the MPs named. It says:

We recommend that the house agree a resolution in the following terms:

That this house:

a) notes with approval the special report from the committee of crivileges;

b) considers that where the house has agreed to refer a matter relating to individual conduct to the committee of privileges, members of this house should not impugn the integrity of that committee or its members or attempt to lobby or intimidate those members or to encourage others to do so, since such behaviour undermines the proceedings of the House and is itself capable of being a contempt;

and c) considers it expedient that the House of Lords is made aware of the special report and this resolution, so that that house can take such action as it deems appropriate.

If the government fails to table such a motion within a reasonable time, we note that any member has the power to write to the speaker to ask for the matters in this special report to be given precedence as a matter of privilege. If Mr Speaker does grant precedence, that member will be able to table an appropriate motion to enable the house to reach a decision on those matters. Such a motion would be debatable and amendable.

It will be for the house to consider what further action, if any, to take in respect of members of the house referred to in this special report.

The Commons privileges committee has criticised in particular seven MPs and one peer for posting tweets, or giving comments to the media, that it describeds as “some of the most disturbing examples of the co-ordinated campaign to interfere with” its inquiry into Boris Johnson.

The quotes are set out in an annex to the report.

The MPs are:

Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary (who seems to be the worst offender – four of her remarks are quoted)

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary and former leader of the Commons (the next worst – two of his remarks are quoted)

Mark Jenkinson

Michael Fabricant

Brendan Clarke-Smith

Andrea Jenkyns

Priti Patel, the former home secretary

And the peer is Zac Goldsmith, who is a Foreign Office minister.

The report says:

By his ruling on 6 March 2023, the Speaker prevented abuse within the house, but what needs to be addressed is the campaign waged outside parliament by some members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to undermine the committee.

Those involved used newspapers and radio and there was extensive use of social media. There were many examples but the committee is particularly concerned about attacks mounted by experienced colleagues, including a serving minister of the Crown, a former leader of the house and a former secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, and at least three members of the House of Lords (one of whom is the serving minister referred to above) who took it upon themselves to undermine procedures of the House of Commons. The former and current members of the Government we have referred to are privy counsellors.

We have not catalogued every tweet or TV appearance, but have set out in an annex to this report some of the most disturbing examples of the co-ordinated campaign to interfere with the work of the committee.

The annex includes the statements made by the individuals referred to above and of others who followed their example.

This matter is made more difficult because two of the Members mounting the most vociferous attacks on the Committee did so from the platform of their own hosted TV shows. Attacks by experienced Members are all the more concerning as they would have known that during the course of an investigation it was not possible for the privileges committee to respond to the attacks.

The report also criticises two other Tory peers, Lord Cruddas and Lord Greenhalgh. It says:

An example of selective pressure brought to bear on Conservative members of the Committee was the email campaign instigated by the Conservative Post website, urging those members to stand aside from the committee and alleging that the inquiry was “deeply flawed, biased and unfair”. Two members of the House of Lords, whose peerages were conferred on the recommendation of Mr Johnson, were among over 600 people who emailed committee members using the template email devised by Conservative Post. Conservative Post is the online magazine of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, whose President is Lord Cruddas and whose Vice-President is Lord Greenhalgh.

Lord Cruddas, who was given a peerage by Boris Johnson despite the House of Lords appointments commissions saying he was unsuitable, posted an extended message on Twiter last night denying that he “intimidated” the Commons privileges committee and claiming that he is the victim of snobbery. He also repeated the claim they were a “kangaroo court”. He said:

The Committee of Privileges is a House of Commons committee. It simply does not have the power to sanction people who aren’t MPs. The House of Lords is an independent body. Once again it has embarrassed Parliament by not understanding basic law. The idea I “intimidated” a committee of supposedly grown-up individuals is a nonsense. Worse frankly, it is defamatory of me and I suspect it is yet more snobbery directed at someone from the working class who has succeeded in life from these career politicians. Based on their ‘logic’ they are intimidating me and committing contempt of the House of Lords. If they don’t want people noticing they are a kangaroo court then they should hop less.

Good morning. When the Commons privileges committee published its report two weeks ago saying Boris Johnson lied to MPs about Partygate, it said that it would be publishing a follow-up about attempts to “undermine” its inquiry. All Commons committees find their work subject to criticism, but in this case what triggered particular concern were comments suggesting that the Conservative members of the committee might face deselection if their report was critical of the former PM.

In its report the committee said:

From the outset of this inquiry there has been a sustained attempt, seemingly coordinated, to undermine the committee’s credibility and, more worryingly, that of those members serving on it. The committee is concerned that if these behaviours go unchallenged, it will be impossible for the house to establish such a committee to conduct sensitive and important inquiries in the future. The house must have a committee to defend its rights and privileges, and it must protect members of the house doing that duty from formal or informal attack or undermining designed to deter and prevent them from doing that duty. We will be making a special report separately to the house dealing with these matters.

This report is now being published at 9am. And the committee seems to have firmed up its thinking. The “seemingly” has gone, and the report is called (according to the advance operational note put out by the committee) “Co-ordinated campaign of interference in the work of the Privileges Committee”.

As Aubrey Allegretti reports in his preview story, the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, and the Tory peer Peter Cruddas, as three of the worst offenders. They all repeatedly criticised the committee, in derogatory terms, as it was carrying out its inquiry.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: The Commons privileges committee publishes its report on the “coordinated campaign of interference” with its investigation into Boris Johnson.

9.10am: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, gives a speech at a Chatham House conference.

10am: The court of appeal issues its judgment in the appeal against a high court ruling saying the Home Office’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was lawful.

Morning: Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish first minister, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry.

Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit in North Yorkshire.

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