Now top Tories want Boris Johnson to step down as MP to close investigation into whether he lied about Partygate
- Senior Conservative MPs have discussed urging Mr Johnson to leave parliament
- This would coincide with his resignation as prime minister on September 6.
- The Commons Privileges Committee has begun gathering evidence for an investigation
Tory grandees intend to tell Boris Johnson resign as MP to stop the investigation or he lied? party gate.
Senior Conservative MPs have discussed urging Mr Johnson to leave parliament while stepping down as prime minister on September 6, fearing the investigation would continue to engulf the party in scandal.
The Commons Privileges Committee has begun gathering evidence for its investigation into whether he misled Parliament.
Senior Conservative MPs have discussed urging Mr Johnson to leave parliament while stepping down as prime minister on September 6, amid fears the investigation would continue to engulf the party in scandal
A former Tory cabinet minister told The Mail on Sunday: “We need to make it clear to Boris that if he resigns, the Privileges Committee will be told to drop the inquiry. But if he sticks – he gets interviewed, Carrie gets interviewed, it all drags into November. Labor won’t let it go.’
The MP added: “I would tell him to step down, go to America and then try to come back in the hope that people will be forgiven and forgotten.”
Police have imposed a fixed fine on Mr Johnson for violating Covid laws at a birthday party for him in Downing Street in June 2020. The seven-member committee, which has a majority of Tory MPs, is expected to present its report in the present in the fall.
Its chairman, Labor grandee Harriet Harman, has called on committee members to visit Downing Street to inspect the locations where the celebrations took place.
Police stand guard outside Downing Street in Whitehall as dozens of people gathered and reacted against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation speech in London, United Kingdom on July 7, 2022
The MPs have also demanded diaries, photos, WhatsApp messages and door logs related to events in Downing Street.
Chris Bryant, the Labor MP who chaired the Privileges Committee before stepping down for the duration of the inquiry, told The Mail on Sunday that it would only be withdrawn if the House of Commons withdrew the original motion to investigate Mr Johnson – and the government would file a motion to that effect. ‘Which Prime Minister is going to put that on the table? It would jeopardize their future,” he added.
A source in Downing Street said Johnson has no intention of leaving parliament. “He is determined to remain as an MP.”