Partygate report: Who is on the Privileges Committee? What do they do and why was Boris Johnson investigated?

Boris Johnson committed “repeated contempts” of Parliament by deliberately misleading MPs with his Partygate denials, a cross-party investigation by the Privileges Committee has found

The Commons Privileges Committee heard evidence from former prime minister Boris Johnson earlier this year amid claims he lied to Parliament over the Partygate scandal.

The committee has subsequently compiled a report of about 30,000 words, in which it has ruled Mr Johnson deliberately misled the Commons over lockdown parties at Downing Street.

The committee says it would have recommended suspending Mr Johnson from the House for 90 days and revoking his pass to Parliament.

But what does the committee ultimately do, and who are the body’s members?

What does the Privileges Committee do?

The UK Parliament portal states: “The Committee of Privileges is appointed to consider specific matters relating to privileges referred to it by the House.”

In practice, the committee investigates cases that "may prevent or hinder" the work of Parliament. Its duties include looking at cases where MPs, such as Mr Johnson in this case, are accused of breaking rules.

A sitting prime minister has never previously been referred to the committee, making Mr Johnson the first individual this has applied to.

Who sits on the Privileges Committee?

The committee is made up of a cross-party group of seven members, all of whom also sit on the standards committee.

The body is chaired by Harriet Harman, a Labour MP who is a qualified solicitor. Ms Harman is Labour’s former deputy leader and has said she will step down at the next general election after around 40 years in Parliament.

The other members of the privileges committee are Tory MPs Sir Bernard Jenkin, Sir Charles Walker, Andy Carter and Alberto Costa, as well as the SNP’s Allan Dorans and Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue.

Mr Johnson had accused Sir Bernard of “monstrous hypocrisy”, less than 24 hours out from the publication of the Partygate report on Thursday morning, after the Guido Fawkes website reported the MP had gone to a drinks party in Parliament while Covid restrictions were in place in 2020.

Why did the Privileges committee investigate Boris Johnson?

All MPs passed a motion in April last year instructing the committee to investigate whether Mr Johnson had misled Parliament.

A swathe of evidence had been requested by the committee, including diaries and WhatsApp messages sent and received by Mr Johnson during his time as prime minister.

Mr Johnson had resigned as a MP on Friday ahead of the report’s publication.

The former PM used his statement to the media to compare the Privileges Committee probe to a "kangaroo court" as he announced his intention to step down.

He said, after receiving a letter from the committee, he believed it was "determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament".