Rishi Sunak was told that he may be drawn into the Commons ‘Partygate’ inquiry as he looked on route to become leader of the Conservatives last night.
Because of the investigation looming over the former prime minister, supporters of the former chancellor have labeled the prospect of a Boris Johnson homecoming as a “certain catastrophe.”
However, Mr. Johnson had already informed supporters in a virtual teleconference that Mr. Sunak and other witnesses may still be called by the investigation.
On the phone, one MP noted that Mr. Johnson had said that he had a “very good” legal case, adding that “[the investigation] may summon others as well.” It would go on forever if they called Rishi or Labour.
One of Mr. Johnson’s closest supporters, Nadine Dorries, also forewarned that Mr. Sunak may pay for the privileges committee inquiry.
She said that the investigation was a “witch-hunt” against Mr. Johnson and that it would consider bringing in other Tories to further destabilize the party since the committee’s chairwoman is Labour’s Harriet Harman.
According to the former cultural secretary, the privileges committee “has not a scrap of proof” against Boris.
The parameters of reference are still up for debate. They’ll exploit Rishi’s victory to bring him in if he prevails as they both worked in the same office building over the same period of time. Boris knew all there was to know.
Supporters of Rishi should thus use caution about making wishes. Although [Mr Sunak] hasn’t deceived the House, they could be interested in learning more about what he knew about the going-on parties. It may severely backfire on Rishi’s supporters.
Conservative voters want [Mr Johnson] back, according to Wellingborough MP Peter Bone, who also supported Mr. Johnson. The use of the inquiry by Rishi’s camp indicates that they are really concerned, and I believe they should be.
If Mr. Johnson intentionally deceived the Commons about Downing Street parties while coronavirus lockdown measures were in place is being investigated by the privileges committee.
Due to their attendance at a short celebration in honor of the then-prime minister’s birthday in June 2020, Mr. Sunak and Mr. Johnson were both fined in April.
Mr. Sunak allegedly had to be persuaded out of resigning during the subsequent uproar and publicly apologized “for the anguish and the fury that this has caused so many people.”
In the closing days of Mr. Johnson’s term in power, the Government released legal counsel from the barrister Lord Pannick KC that criticized the investigation’s methodology as being “fundamentally defective” and “wrong in principle.”
The advice, which was requested by the Cabinet Office, also said that by denying Mr. Johnson legal counsel and permitting testimony from unidentified witnesses, MPs on the privileges committee are “proposing to adopt an unfair approach.”
If the investigation came to a negative conclusion, Mr. Johnson might lose his seat in the House of Commons, which would have made the party even more fractious had he taken the leadership position. The Parliament of Commons will vote on whether Mr. Johnson purposefully deceived the house, Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker said yesterday, just before Mr. Johnson withdrew from the campaign for leadership.
It is certain that many Conservatives will refuse to compromise their principles in order to support him at that vote. Because of the decision of the privileges committee, I’m afraid Boris Johnson would be a certain failure if he were to win.
‘Look, I’d love to see Boris Johnson come back to frontline politics, I’m speaking personally,’ said Dominic Raab, Mr. Johnson’s former deputy who is also supporting Mr. Sunak.
But Partygate, the significant issue that compelled his resignation, is still a problem. And he’s going to watch broadcast witness testimony, including his own, in a matter of days, not weeks, which will send him straight back into that spiral.
A Commons vote on a resolution to halt the probe might have been organized if Mr. Johnson had won the leadership contest.
Mr. Johnson had promised his followers he would not act in this manner and would handle the investigation with the greatest decency. However, several MPs had threatened to resign from the party whip if he had been elected Tory leader, thereby triggering an election.
This would have presented a serious danger and led to a “crisis” before the privileges committee started hearing testimony, George Osborne, who served as chancellor from 2010 to 2016, said on Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show.
By today at 2pm, 100 MPs must support candidates for them to be on the ballot.
Before Mr. Johnson withdrew yesterday night, Mr. Sunak had surpassed the cutoff with 146 MPs officially supporting him.