Michael Gove distances UK Government from partygate probe

The Privileges Committee will meet in the wake of Johnson’s dramatic resignation last week, to conclude its inquiry into whether the former prime minister misled Parliament over No 10 lockdown parties.

MPs have pledged to continue the investigation process after Johnson stepped down as a Tory MP and launched an attack on the probe, branding it a “witch hunt”.

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The panel is set to meet in Westminster on Monday with a view to deciding when to publish its report.

There has been speculation the seven-person committee, which is chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Conservative majority, could release its findings in a matter of days.

The Levelling Up Secretary said on Monday that any vote on the findings is a “matter for the House of Commons”.

“One of the things at the heart of Rishi Sunak’s approach to government is that you respect due process. So ultimately the House of Commons, having set this committee up, will receive the report and will then decide what to do.”

The probe is thought to have ruled that Johnson lied to Parliament when he told MPs Covid rules were followed in Downing Street despite boozy parties taking place while social distancing restrictions were in place.

Reports suggest the panel was set to recommend at least a 10-day suspension, reaching the threshold for a by-election to be potentially triggered in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

Johnson accused the committee of “bias” and likened it to a “kangaroo court”.

The Privileges Committee, in response, said Johnson “impugned the integrity of the House” with his attack.

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While the former Tory Party leader will no longer be affected by a decision to suspend him, given he has stood down from the green benches, the committee could choose to apply other sanctions.

Former Commons speaker John Bercow was banned last year from being permitted a pass to gain entry to the parliamentary estate after being found guilty of bullying by Westminster’s Independent Expert Panel.

Gove defended the integrity of the committee but refused to rebuke party colleagues during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It is not my job or role to censor or police anyone’s views in a matter of public debate,” he said.

“I have respect for the work that they have done and I think that we need to respect again the integrity of the process and wait until the report is published before then debating its conclusions and the consequences.

“The second thing that I want to say is that I do deprecate the fact that they are now in a position where, as reported, they have to seek or have been granted additional security.”

Gove said the UK Government followed the “appropriate procedure” and the correct “precedent” in its handling of Johnson’s honours list.

However, later on Monday morning, Sunak accused Johnson of asking him to break the rules when it came to the former PM’s honours list.

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Meanwhile, an ally of Johnson accused Sunak of having “secretly blocked” the peerages of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and others.

“He refused to ask for them to undergo basic checks that could have taken only a few weeks or even days,” they said.

“That is how he kept them off the list – without telling Boris Johnson.”

Gove declined to criticise his former party leader or Johnson loyalists Dorries and Nigel Adams, whose resignations have triggered tricky by-elections for the UK Government.

“By-elections during the course of any government’s time are always challenging but we have good candidates I know that will be in place,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to supporting them.

“Elections are part of political life. It’s also the case, I think, that you do best in elections when you concentrate on good government.”

Meanwhile, Johnson said the UK Covid-19 Inquiry could be “frustrated” following a legal submission to Baroness Hallett’s investigation.

The pandemic leader has offered to hand unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the inquiry, bypassing the Cabinet Office and its judicial review.

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Ministers have begun a High Court challenge to stop the chairwoman from being given what they regard as “unambiguously irrelevant” materials.

A letter sent to the inquiry on Friday by Government lawyers said Johnson took “a different position” and suggested officials would not give him back materials if “he intended simply to provide it, without protection, on to the inquiry”.

Johnson told The Times the Cabinet Office is refusing to return his notebooks in case he turns them over to the inquiry, which is due to hear from witnesses for the first time this week.

“The Cabinet Office’s foot-dragging approach to the inquiry is costing public time and money,” he told the newspaper.

He said the Government’s position is “now — in my view — frustrating the inquiry’s work”.