Boris Johnson furious as bombshell development risks undermining partygate report
Boris Johnson has demanded that a Tory MP resigns from the partygate probe over claims he may have broken lockdown rules
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Boris Johnson has demanded that a Tory MP resigns from the partygate probe over claims he may have broken lockdown rules.
Sir Bernard Jenkin - who is sitting on the committee preparing to publish a report into whether Johnson lied to MPs with his partygate denials - has been accused of attending a gathering during lockdown.
The Guido Fawkes website reported that Jenkin went to a drinks party held by Commons Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing in December 2020, during this time London was in Tier 2 measures restricting indoor mixing.
It comes as the cross-party committee Jenkin sits on was preparing to publish its damning report on Thursday morning.
The Guido Fawkes website reported that Jenkin went to a drinks party held by Commons Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing in December 2020
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In a statement, the former prime minister 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 Cruddas, an ally of Johnson, has called for the police to investigate the allegations.
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, while bars and pubs could only serve alcohol alongside “substantial” meals.
Johnson quit parliament last week after receiving a copy of the committee’s report.
Johnson quit parliament last week after receiving a copy of the committee’s report
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The committee have been investigating whether Johnson committed a contempt of Parliament by misleading MPs either recklessly or deliberately by denying rule-breaking parties in No 10.
Johnson has branded the committee, which is chaired by Labour grandee Harriet Harman, a "kangaroo court".
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.