Boris Johnson urges privileges committee to publish ‘nonsense’ report

Boris Johnson has urged the privileges committee to publish its report on whether or not he lied to MPs over partygate and “let the world judge their nonsense”.

In a brand new assertion on Tuesday night, the previous prime minister hit out on the panel’s “absurdly unfair rules” which he claimed prevented him from criticising its findings.

The group of cross-party MPs is poised to conclude that Mr Johnson deliberately misled parliament along with his assurances that COVID guidelines had been adopted always in Downing Street throughout the pandemic.

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Mr Johnson mentioned: “The Privileges Committee ought to publish their report and let the world decide their nonsense.

“They have no excuse for delay.

“Their absurdly unfair guidelines don’t even permit any criticism of their findings.

“I have made my views clear to the committee in writing – and will do so more widely when they finally publish.”

Earlier, the committee mentioned that it’s coping with “further representations” made by Mr Johnson’s authorized staff on Monday night time because the group met to conclude the inquiry.

No info was given concerning the submissions, however his last-minute intervention is more likely to delay the publication of their findings – which had been initially anticipated to be revealed on Wednesday.

A committee spokesman mentioned on Tuesday: “A letter enclosing further representations from Mr Johnson was received by the committee at 11.57pm last night.

“The committee is coping with these and can report promptly.”

Mr Johnson beforehand attacked the seven-person committee, which is chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman however has a Conservative majority, as a “kangaroo court” when he introduced his Commons exit on Friday after receiving a draft of its findings.

It has been steered that the panel had been discussing a 20-day suspension as punishment for mendacity, triggering a recall petition and potential by-election.

Mr Johnson can’t be suspended now he has resigned, however he may very well be refused a parliamentary move supplied to former MPs, a sanction imposed on ex-Commons speaker John Bercow after a bullying report.

Despite the findings anticipated to be damaging, Mr Johnson today insisted “I’ll be back” – a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator.

In the Daily Express, the previous prime minister mentioned: “We must fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto. We must smash Labour at the next election.

“Nothing lower than absolute victory and whole Brexit will do – and because the nice Arnold Schwarzenegger mentioned, I’ll be again.”

The message echoed Mr Johnson’s sign-off during his final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions last year, when he told MPs: “Hasta la vista, child” – the catchphrase of Schwarzenegger’s cyborg character in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

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That reference similarly left the door open for a possible comeback, but the former Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP remained on the back benches until quitting as a Member of Parliament on Friday.

Following his shock resignation, Mr Johnson launched into a public spat with Rishi Sunak over his resignation honours list.

Mr Johnson’s camp accused him of having “secretly blocked” the peerages of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and other allies in his resignation list.

The prime minister denied this and claimed his predecessor asked him to “do one thing I wasn’t ready to do”, which was “to both overrule the Holac [House of Lords Appointments] committee or make guarantees to individuals”.

As Ms Dorries weighed in together with her model of occasions, claiming “sinister forces” were behind her peerages snub, Sir Keir Starmer warned that Tory infighting between the two erstwhile allies is damaging the UK’s reputation internationally and putting off investors.

The Labour leader told business chiefs at London Tech Week: “There’s a deeper worth as a result of there is a repute hit to the UK.

“I think there’s an economic hit as well, many investors said to me, we’re not investing in the UK right now because we don’t see the conditions of certainty and stability we need in order to invest.”