Boris Johnson bids to delay Partygate vote

The Government is calling for a vote on a parliamentary investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament over partygate to be delayed until the police inquiry has concluded.

The Commons will decide today if the Privileges Committee should be asked to consider whether the Prime Minister’s conduct amounts to contempt of Parliament.

The motion, tabled by leading figures from seven opposition parties, says that the committee’s inquiry should not begin in earnest until the Metropolitan Police have concluded their own investigation into alleged lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

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But the Government has tabled an amendment stating that the vote on the inquiry itself should not take place until after the police investigation has come to an end and the Sue Gray report has been published.

Boris Johnson boards a plane at Stansted Airport for a visit to IndiaBoris Johnson boards a plane at Stansted Airport for a visit to India
Boris Johnson boards a plane at Stansted Airport for a visit to India

This will allow MPs “to have all the facts at their disposal” when they make a decision, it said. It is understood that all Tory MPs will be whipped to support the amendment.

A Labour source claimed that any Conservative supporting the change would be “voting for a cover up”.

A Government spokesperson said: “The Government has tabled an amendment to Labour’s motion which says that consideration of this matter should take place after the conclusion of the police investigation, and the publication of the Cabinet Office report, allowing MPs to have all the facts at their disposal.”

The amendment states that the PM has “accepted mistakes were made” in relation to events in No 10 and the Cabinet Office while coronavirus regulations were in force, and has apologised to the House of Commons and to the country.

Mr Johnson has already received one fixed-penalty notice for attending his birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 but is thought to have been at half of the 12 gatherings under investigationby Scotland Yard.

The Prime Minister will not vote on the motion today as he will be on an official visit to India.

Earlier, opposition leaders urged Conservatives not to block the investigation into Mr Johnson’s actions.

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The SNP and Scottish Labour joined to urge Tory MPs to vote for the probe.

It comes after reports suggested Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross – who is both an MP and an MSP – will not be in Westminster for the vote today.

Mr Ross withdrew a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, saying the conflict in Ukraine made it important for him to remain in charge at Downing Street.

The SNP’s Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald said her party would support the motion to refer the issue to the Privileges Committee.

She said: “Douglas Ross was previously quick to claim that ‘lying to Parliament and breaking the ministerial Code is a straight red, even in the most lenient referee’s book’ – now it seems as though he’s lost his cards.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar wrote to Tory MPs on the issue. He said: “The real judge of a politician’s character is what they do when what is right clashes with what is personally convenient for them.”