Rishi Sunak – latest: Tory civil war deepens as Goldsmith hits back over claim he refused to apologise

Allies of Boris Johnson set to be named in fresh Partygate report

Allies of Boris Johnson are set to be named in a fresh report into the Partygate scandal on Thursday, according to reports.

The report is expected to highlight issues the cross-party Privileges Committee faced in carrying out a 14-month inquiry into Mr Johnson, highlighting potential contempts of parliament.

Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg are among those believed to be named in the report after comments they made about the probe, according to The Guardian.

Ms Dorries, a former culture secretary, previously called the Partygate inquiry a “witch hunt” and Mr Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary said it was a “kangaroo court”.

After the publication of the Partygate conclusion, which recommended that Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension if he had not quit Parliament, the former prime minister and his allies stepped up their attacks.

Mr Johnson, who quit as an MP in protest after learning of the inquiry’s intention to hand him a lengthy enough punishment to potentially trigger a by-election in his seat, said the committee had reached a “deranged conclusion”.

In his resignation statement, the former Tory leader labelled the investigation a “kangaroo court” that was akin to a “witch hunt”.

MPs who ruled that Boris Johnson lied to Parliament with his partygate assurances are expected to publish a follow-up report detailing attempts to interfere with the inquiry.

The Privileges Committee published its report into the former prime minister earlier this month, concluding he committed “repeated contempts” of Parliament by deliberately misleading MPs with his partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation

The seven-person panel, which was chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but had a Conservative majority, used its 106-page report to warn Mr Johnson’s most vocal defenders that they would face scrutiny themselves through a special update into attempts to undermine its work.

It is expected that the follow-up document will be published on Thursday.

The special report will raise issues encountered by the committee during its initial inquiry, including whether statements by Mr Johnson’s supporters could be considered a contempt of Parliament in their own right, according to sources cited by The Guardian.

In its partygate report published on June 15, the Privileges Committee said: “From the outset of this inquiry there has been a sustained attempt, seemingly co-ordinated, to undermine the committee’s credibility and, more worryingly, that of those members serving on it.

“The committee is concerned that if these behaviours go unchallenged, it will be impossible for the House to establish such a committee to conduct sensitive and important inquiries in the future.

“The House must have a committee to defend its rights and privileges, and it must protect members of the House doing that duty from formal or informal attack or undermining designed to deter and prevent them from doing that duty.

“We will be making a special report separately to the House dealing with these matters.”

After the publication of the partygate conclusion, which recommended that Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension if he had not quit Parliament, the former prime minister and his allies stepped up their attacks.

Mr Johnson, who quit as an MP in protest after learning of the inquiry’s intention to hand him a lengthy enough punishment to potentially trigger a by-election in his seat, said the committee had reached a “deranged conclusion”.

In his resignation statement, the former Tory leader labelled the investigation a “kangaroo court” that was akin to a “witch hunt”.

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, one of Mr Johnson’s most vocal supporters, urged voters to turf out Tory MPs who backed the committee’s report.

“Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow,” she said on the day of the report’s publication.

That did not deter MPs from voting overwhelmingly to back the report, with only seven voting against the committee’s findings and 354 voting in favour.

Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith called the MPs’ conclusions “spiteful, vindictive and overreaching”.

Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke – who was knighted in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours – said the punishment dealt out by the committee was “absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness”.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, another honoured by Mr Johnson, suggested the committee’s “fundamental judgment” was “wrong”.

MPs who ruled that Boris Johnson lied to parliament with his partygate assurances are expected to publish a follow-up report detailing attempts to interfere with the inquiry.

The Privileges Committee published its report into the former prime minister earlier this month, concluding he committed “repeated contempts” of parliament by deliberately misleading MPs with his partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation

The seven-person panel, which was chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but had a Conservative majority, used its 106-page report to warn Mr Johnson’s most vocal defenders that they would face scrutiny themselves through a special update into attempts to undermine its work.

It is expected that the follow-up document will be published on Thursday.

Report:

It comes as Rishi Sunak said he wanted to “focus on the future”, as he sought to draw a line under the partygate saga following Boris Johnson’s exit from Parliament.

The Prime Minister has faced accusations of being too “weak” to stand up to his former party leader after missing Monday’s Commons vote on the Privileges Committee report.

Mr Sunak has also not said whether he agrees with the highly critical report by the cross-party committee, which was backed by MPs this week.

Speaking to the media in Kent on Thursday, he said: “I have enormous respect for the Privileges Committee, support the Privileges Committee and indeed respect the vote of the House that we had on Monday regarding Boris Johnson.

Meanwhile, a failed Tory London mayoral candidate is set to become a peer within weeks despite a new police probe into a Covid-era party organised by his campaign.

Shaun Bailey is under pressure to hand back his honour, received in Boris Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list, after an explosive video of the Partygate event emerged.

It showed members of Mr Bailey’s campaign team dancing at a Christmas party in December 2020, when indoor socialising was banned under strict tier 2 conditions.

It later emerged that partygoers had been formally invited to what was billed as a “jingle and mingle” party.

The Metropolitan Police have since announced that they have launched an investigation into the event.

Despite the uproar, Mr Bailey is expected to be installed as the latest member of the House of Lords as early as the middle of July.

Those providing evidence to the Covid inquiry are doing nothing if not living up to expectations, as they parrot lines of regret before denying any real responsibility for our woeful preparation for and management of the pandemic.

Each of the witnesses is at pains to shift the blame in the direction of some anonymous others.

As Tom Peck so clearly describes, Matt Hancock, in his first appearance before the panel, attempted to manoeuvre the focus toward the lack of preparedness he inherited and the government’s prioritising of post-Brexit planning; both of which could not be blamed on him.

Read more in this letter to the editor:

The ongoing police probe into further potential breaches of Covid laws at Downing Street, Chequers, inside parliament and the Conservative Party headquarters is likely to cause Rishi Sunak a headache for some time.

It includes more gatherings attended by Boris Johnson while he was prime minister, and a Christmas party where Tory staffers were invited to “jingle and mingle”.

The investigation is likely to be ongoing when by-elections triggered by Mr Johnson’s resignation take place, with voters going to the polls in Uxbridge and South Ruislip on 20 July.

On the same day, there will be a by-election in the North Yorkshire seat of Tory MP Nigel Adams, who resigned in support of the former prime minister.

Metropolitan Police officers are assessing whether new evidence crosses the threshold for a full investigation, and will then decide if to send attendees questionnaires.

Click here for the full story.