Boris report ‘is 30,000 words long’ – as when it will be published is revealed
A long-awaited report that is expected to say that Boris Johnson misled parliament over Partygate is expected to be finally released at 9am tomorrow.
The report from the privileges committee is said to be 30,000 words long and has taken over a year to finally publish it.
It has been composed by a group of seven MPs and seeks to determine whether the former prime minister misled Parliament over No 10 lockdown parties.
The publication of its findings had already been pushed back towards the end of this week, reportedly due to printing problems in Parliament, before Mr Johnson’s 11th-hour representations.
Mr Johnson has railed against the Tory majority group of MPs he has criticised as a ‘kangaroo court’ and has already stood down as an MP over their findings.
The former Conservative leader’s resignation on Friday means he will not serve the lengthy suspension likely to be recommended.
If it was at least 10 days and approved by the Commons then a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency could have been triggered.
The committee said it was having to deal with a letter containing ‘further representations’ from Mr Johnson, received at 11.57pm on Monday night.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Boris Johnson said: ‘The Privileges Committee should publish their report and let the world judge their nonsense. They have no excuse for delay.
‘Their absurdly unfair rules do not even allow any criticism of their findings. I have made my views clear to the committee in writing – and will do so more widely when they finally publish.’
In a dramatic twist on the eve of the publication of the report Boris has claimed a Tory MP sitting on the committee may have broken lockdown rules.
He called for Sir Bernard Jenkin’s resignation, according to The Guido Fawkes website.
It reported that Sir Bernard went to a drinks party held by Commons Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing in December 2020, while London was in Tier 2 measures restricting indoor mixing.
In a statement, Mr Johnson said: ‘Bernard Jenkin has just voted to expel me from Parliament for allegedly trying to conceal from Parliament my knowledge of illicit events.
‘Now it turns out he may have for the whole time known that he himself attended an event – and concealed this from the Privileges Committee and the whole House for the last year.
‘To borrow the language of the committee, if this is the case, he ‘must have known’ he was in breach of the rules.
‘He has no choice but to explain his actions to his own committee, for his colleagues to investigate and then to resign.’
Lord Peter Cruddas, a Tory donor who Mr Johnson elevated to the Lords, called for the police to investigate.
Sir Bernard has been contacted while a representative for Dame Eleanor declined to comment.
London had entered Tier 2 restrictions six days before the alleged gathering in Parliament on December 8 2020.
Indoor mixing was banned and the rule of six was in place outside. Bars and pubs could only serve alcohol alongside ‘substantial’ meals.
Sources said the Tory-majority Privileges Committee, chaired by Labour’s Harriet Harman, had signed off on its report into Mr Johnson and will publish on Thursday morning.
They have investigated whether Mr Johnson committed a contempt of Parliament by misleading MPs either recklessly or deliberately by denying rule-breaking parties in No 10.
The former prime minister was himself fined by the Metropolitan Police, which issued 126 fixed-penalty notices for Covid breaches across Downing Street and Whitehall.
Mr Johnson has railed against the committee he has criticised as a ‘kangaroo court’ and stood down as an MP on Friday after receiving their findings.
The former Conservative leader’s resignation means he will not serve the lengthy suspension likely to be recommended.
If it was at least 10 days and approved by the Commons, then a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency could have been triggered.
Instead, his constituents will go to the polls next month in a major electoral challenge for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak because of the resignation.
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