Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he views Partygate inquiry into Boris Johnson as ‘witch-hunt’
Good morning. Today we are expecting to see the dossier prepared by Boris Johnson intended to show the Commons privileges committee that he did not intentionally mislead MPs about Partygate. Readers with good memories – in fact, readers with any functioning memory at all – will recall that we said much the same yesterday morning. At some point today the forecast should finally come true.
Rishi Sunak has given an interview to BBC Breakfast this morning. He was primarily focusing on Louise Casey’s damning report about the Met, but he was also asked about Johnson. As well as confirming that Tory MPs will get a free vote if the privileges committee recommends sanctions that have to be approved by the Commons as a whole, Sunak also refused to say whether he thought Johnson was the victim of a witch-hunt.
Asked if he agreed with the Johnson supporters who have described the inquiry in those terms, Sunak replied:
That’s ultimately something for Boris Johnson and he’ll have the committee process to go through and that’s a matter for parliament. That’s not what I’m focused on.
Johnson’s diehard supporters continue to argue that the process is biased against him, and that he is being tried by a kangaroo court. They are minority in the parliamentary party, but they are vocal and passionate, and their allies in the media are powerful, mainly because they are the people running papers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.
MPs like Jacob Rees-Mogg have continued to attack the committee even though Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, has warned them not to interfere with the committee’s work. She was more outspoken than Sunak, who this morning sounded anxious to avoid provoking the Johnsonites.
I will post more from his interview soon. Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.
11.30am: The European Research Group, the caucus for hardline Tory Brexiter MPs, hold a press conference to announce its conclusions about the PM’s Northern Ireland protocol deal.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
3pm: Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, gives evidence to the Lords economic affairs committee.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected].
Key events
Three out of five Tory members think privileges committee inquiry into Johnson unfair, survey suggests
If you want to know why Rishi Sunak refused to engage at all this morning with the question about whether the inquiry by the privileges committee into Boris Johnson is biased or unfair (see 9.18am), a survey of Tory party members by the ConservativeHome website this morning provides the answer. ConHome surveys are a reliable guide to membership opinion, and this one suggests a majority of members (59%) do think the inquiry is unfair, and a significant minority (25%) are committed Johnsonites who want him back as leader before the next election.
The survey also suggests 59% of members do not think Johnson deliberately misled MPs about Partygate, while 30% think he did.
In his write-up, Paul Goodman, the ConHome editor, says:
In sum, a majority of the panel believes he broke lockdown rules, but didn’t deliberately mislead the Commons over breaches in Number Ten; think the Privileges Committee inquiry into his conduct is unfair, and believe that he should be a Tory parliamentary candidate at the next election … but that he shouldn’t return as Conservative leader and Prime Minister (at least before then).
The way I read it, about a quarter of the panel are determined Johnson backers and under a fifth are dedicated Johnson critics – see the last two questions and answers.
As for your average respondent, my sense is that he or she regrets his departure from Downing Street, and feels the accusations against him over Covid and parties are unfair, but doesn’t want him back in Number Ten – for the moment, anyway.
Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he views Partygate inquiry into Boris Johnson as ‘witch-hunt’
Good morning. Today we are expecting to see the dossier prepared by Boris Johnson intended to show the Commons privileges committee that he did not intentionally mislead MPs about Partygate. Readers with good memories – in fact, readers with any functioning memory at all – will recall that we said much the same yesterday morning. At some point today the forecast should finally come true.
Rishi Sunak has given an interview to BBC Breakfast this morning. He was primarily focusing on Louise Casey’s damning report about the Met, but he was also asked about Johnson. As well as confirming that Tory MPs will get a free vote if the privileges committee recommends sanctions that have to be approved by the Commons as a whole, Sunak also refused to say whether he thought Johnson was the victim of a witch-hunt.
Asked if he agreed with the Johnson supporters who have described the inquiry in those terms, Sunak replied:
That’s ultimately something for Boris Johnson and he’ll have the committee process to go through and that’s a matter for parliament. That’s not what I’m focused on.
Johnson’s diehard supporters continue to argue that the process is biased against him, and that he is being tried by a kangaroo court. They are minority in the parliamentary party, but they are vocal and passionate, and their allies in the media are powerful, mainly because they are the people running papers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.
MPs like Jacob Rees-Mogg have continued to attack the committee even though Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, has warned them not to interfere with the committee’s work. She was more outspoken than Sunak, who this morning sounded anxious to avoid provoking the Johnsonites.
I will post more from his interview soon. Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.
11.30am: The European Research Group, the caucus for hardline Tory Brexiter MPs, hold a press conference to announce its conclusions about the PM’s Northern Ireland protocol deal.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
3pm: Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, gives evidence to the Lords economic affairs committee.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected].
