THE Prime Minister has been urged to remove the Conservative Party whip from Boris Johnson, if he is found to have lied to parliament.

The SNP have called on Rishi Sunak to strip the former prime minister of his membership of the parliamentary Tory party – a move that would force him to sit as an independent, like former colleague Matt Hancock, who had the whip removed over his appearance on I’m a Celebrity.

It comes as Johnson prepares to face a committee of MPs who are investigating whether he misled parliament over the partygate scandal.

Critics of the former prime minister have said he knew about law-breaking parties in Downing Street during the lockdown.

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He told the House of Commons he believed the rules had been followed – despite being one of many within the government to be fined for breaking lockdown rules.

Sunak was also fined over a party held in Downing Street.

The SNP’s deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black said: “The parties inside No. 10 rocked the political landscape – and Boris Johnson was at the centre of it.

“This week’s interrogation by the Privilege Committee should shed light on the scandal and confirm once and for all what we already suspect.

“If Boris Johnson knowingly misled Parliament, then Rishi Sunak must not hesitate to remove the whip.

“A failure to do so would set a precedence within Mr Sunak’s government: break the ministerial code and you can get away with it.

“The lockdown parties showed the people of Scotland what the Tories are really like. They believe, and always have believed, that it is one rule for us, and another rule for them.

“Scotland can do so much better than this.

“With the full powers of independence, we can rid ourselves of this corrupt Westminster system and chart our own path as a strong, prosperous independent country.”