Boris Johnson allies brand the Commons probe into Partygate ‘a farce’

Boris Johnson allies branded the Commons probe into Partygate ‘a farce’ today as it released an update repeatedly citing Sue Gray’s evidence. The cross-party Privileges Committee made clear the civil servant’s report will be a key plank of its investigation into whether the ex-PM misled the House.

It revealed that Mr Johnson is being called to give evidence in public in the week of March 20. But Tories immediately questioned how the process could be ‘credible’ after Ms Gray quit to become Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff.

An ally of Mr Johnson told MailOnline: ‘The privileges committee has admitted that its central focus is the evidence of Sue Gray, who is now Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff. This is beyond a farce and totally lacks credibility.

The updated added: ‘We will compare that with what Mr Johnson said to the House of Commons, particularly on 1 December 2021, 8 December 2021, and subsequently.’

Calls have been mounting to Rishi Sunak to ensure the appointment does not go ahead, with claims it does not pass the ‘sniff test’.

Senior Conservatives say Ms Gray’s desire to work for Labour discredits her report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, published less than a year ago, and raises concerns about her passing sensitive information on the Government to the opposition in the future.

Former Labour Deputy Leader is heading the Privileges Committee investigation into Mr Johnson’s conduct at Downing Street. It could start having public hearings soon.

If the MPs suspend him for ten days or more, on the grounds that they believe Mr Johnson misled Parliament in December 2021 when he denied parties had taken place in No 10, that would automatically trigger a recall petition.

And if that petition was to be signed by more than ten per cent of the local electorate, it could lead to a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

Supporters of Mr Johnson mounted a coordinated attack on the Privileges Committee process today. Tory MP Mark Jenkinson said: ‘The privileges committee document reveals that the material written by Sue Gray, who we now know is Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, is at the heart of its work. This is a total circus.

The PM can theoretically stop a senior civil servant from taking up a job outside Whitehall if the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments warns him it is ‘unsuitable’. However, the power has never been used and mandarins have only ever been told to wait up to two years before starting a controversial new role.

Whitehall ethics chief (and former pub landlady) who previously ended the careers of ministers Sue Gray is a veteran civil servant and former pub landlady, renowned as a tough enforcer. Her Partygate report last year catapulted her into the public eye, when she was seen as holding the fate of Boris Johnson and ministers in her hand.

Her inquiry into the so-called Plebgate affair in 2012 led to the resignation of minister Andrew Mitchell for verbally abusing police on duty in Downing Street. And her investigation into Damian Green found his had made misleading comments about pornography found on an office computer, triggering his resignation in 2017.

From 2018 to 2021 she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance at the Northern Ireland Executive. She returned to London to head up work on the Union in 2021.

But she admitted she would not have come back to London if she had won the top Civil Service post in Northern Ireland. She applied to run the service after the retirement of previous boss David Sterling, but the powersharing executive overlooked her and two other candidates, leaving the post unfilled.