Privileges committee says Johnson would face 90-day suspension if he were still MP
The committee says, if Boris Johnson were still an MP, it would recommend a suspension for 90 days. It says that last week it was set to recommend a suspension for more than 10 sitting days, enough to trigger the recall election process. But it says it increased the hypothetical punishment in the light of his statement on Friday night, attacking the committee and its draft findings, which itself was “a very serious contempt”.
Johnson is now an ex-MP, and so a suspension punishment can no longer apply. But the committee says Johnson should not be entitled the pass normally given to former MPs allowing them access to parliament.
In its summary the committee says:
The question which the house asked the committee is whether the house had been misled by Mr Johnson and, if so, whether that conduct amounted to contempt. It is for the house to decide whether it agrees with the committee. The house as a whole makes that decision. Motions arising from reports from this committee are debatable and amendable. The committee had provisionally concluded that Mr Johnson deliberately misled the house and should be sanctioned for it by being suspended for a period that would trigger the provisions of the Recall of MPs Act 2015. In light of Mr Johnson’s conduct in committing a further contempt on 9 June 2023, the committee now considers that if Mr Johnson were still a member he should be suspended from the service of the House for 90 days for repeated contempts and for seeking to undermine the parliamentary process, by:
a) Deliberately misleading the house.
b) Deliberately misleading the committee.
c) Breaching confidence.
d) Impugning the committee and thereby undermining the democratic process of the house.
e) Being complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee.
We recommend that he should not be entitled to a former member’s pass.
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My advice to all [MPs] is, having had the committee carry out the work we asked them to do, is to read the report, is to make their own judgments about it, and take the task that is our privilege to do seriously and soberly. And members should use their own judgment on that.
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I can confirm that the motion before us will be votable, it will be amendable, and it is house business, and so I am expecting a free vote.
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And I know also … these are difficult matters for the house. We have to look at the evidence, we have to look at the report. But we are talking about people who are friends and colleagues. It will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us, the tasks that we face on Monday.
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But all of us must do what we think is right, and others must leave us alone to do so.
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Mordaunt was referring to supporters of Boris Johnson who are denouncing the privileges committee report on social media and some of whom seem to be suggesting that Tory MPs who back the report could be subject to deselection.
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This is from David Campbell Bannerman, a former Tory MEP who now chairs the Conservative Democratic Organisation, a new group pushing for more grassroots democracy in the party. It is widely seen as a closet “bring back Johnson” campaign.
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CDO is preparing to give advice on deselections / Votes of No Confidence for the benefit of members who wish to take matters further. Up to them of course – as it should be. @ConservativeDOr https://t.co/qlX1HLrpAG
— David C Bannerman (@DCBMEP) June 15, 2023
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Read More: Boris Johnson faced 90-day suspension for misleading MPs before he quit – UK