Boris Johnson’s allies have been criticised by the Privileges Committee (Picture: Rex/Getty)
Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and Priti Patel undermined the Commons inquiry into Boris Johnson and Partygate, a special report has said.
The Privileges Committee found allies of Boris Johnson had put ‘improper pressure’ on the Parliamentary group which examined allegations he lied to MPs over Partygate.
They highlighted comments made the three former cabinet ministers along with Lord Goldsmith who is currently minister for overseas territories.
‘Those Members did not choose to engage through any proper process such as the submission of letters or evidence to our inquiry, but by attacking the members of the committee, in order to influence their judgment,’ the committee’s report said.
Their aim was to ‘influence the outcome of the inquiry’, ‘impede the work of the committee by inducing members to resign from it’, ‘discredit the committee’s conclusions if those conclusions were not what they wanted’ and ‘discredit the committee as a whole’, it said.
The report added: ‘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.’
In the 14 page document the committee set out ‘some of the most disturbing examples of the coordinated campaign to interfere with the work of the Committee’.
This includes Mr Rees-Mogg saying on GB News the committee is ‘not even a proper legal setup’ and called them a ‘political committee against Boris Johnson’.
The Privileges Committee concluded earlier this month the former prime minister committed ‘repeated contempts’ of Parliament.
They found Mr Johnson deliberately misled MPs with his Partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation.
Nadine Dorries, one of Boris Johnson’s allies, said those who voted against Mr Johnson was ‘not a Conservative’ (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
The committee found the former prime minister deliberately misled MPS (Picture: PA)
The seven-person panel, which was chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but had a Conservative majority, used its 106-page report to warn Mr Johnson’s most vocal defenders they would face scrutiny themselves.
In its Partygate report published on June 15, the Privileges Committee said: ‘From the outset of this inquiry there has been a sustained attempt, seemingly co-ordinated, 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.
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‘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.’
It recommended Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension if he had not quit Parliament.
The former prime minister and his allies have since stepped up their attacks, with Mr Johnson claiming the committee had reached a ‘deranged conclusion’.
In his resignation statement, he labelled the investigation a ‘kangaroo court’ that was akin to a ‘witch hunt’.
Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the committee was ‘wrong'(Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, one of Mr Johnson’s most vocal supporters, urged voters to turf out Tory MPs who backed the committee’s report.
‘Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow,’ she said on the day of the report’s publication.
That did not deter MPs from voting overwhelmingly to back the report, with only seven voting against the committee’s findings and 354 voting in favour.
Priti Patel was also criticised in the report (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith called the MPs’ conclusions ‘spiteful, vindictive and overreaching’.
Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke – who was knighted in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours – said the punishment dealt out by the committee was ‘absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness’.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, another honoured by Mr Johnson, suggested the committee’s ‘fundamental judgment’ was ‘wrong’.
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The special report will include whether statements by Mr Johnson’s supporters could be considered a contempt of Parliament in their own right.