Johnson denied special access to parliament as MPs endorse report which said he lied

Boris Johnson has been stripped of special access to parliament after MPs endorsed the privileges committee’s report that he lied about parties in Downing Street during the COVID pandemic.

MPs voted by 354 to 7 to back the report’s findings.

A debate was held in the Commons on Monday afternoon asking MPs to consider the report, which found the former prime minister knowingly misled parliament multiple times with his statements about gatherings in Number 10 during lockdown.

Earlier in the day, there had been uncertainty over whether there would be a vote on the report, which could also go through on the nod unless there are objections from Mr Johnson’s supporters.

However, after some MPs could be heard shouting “no” in the chamber, a division was held and a formal vote took place.

In its damning report, the committee recommended that Mr Johnson should have served a 90-day suspension from the Commons had he not resigned as an MP just days earlier.

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It also said Mr Johnson should have his right to access parliament as a former MP revoked – a sanction that attracted strong criticism from his supporters.

MPs were given a free vote on the issue, meaning the party whips – responsible for enforcing party discipline – would not instruct them on how to vote.

A number of Tory MPs criticised the conduct of Mr Johnson during the debate, including his predecessor Theresa May, who praised the committee for its “rigorous” report.

“It is not easy to sit in judgment on friends and colleagues,” she said, “but friendship, working together, should not get in the way of doing what is right.

“I commend the members of the Privileges Committee for their painstaking work, and for their dignity in the face of slurs on their integrity. To all the members of the committee, this House should… say thank you for your service.”

However, a handful of Conservative MPs confirmed they would vote against the report.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who received a knighthood in Mr Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list, said it was “ridiculous” to remove Mr Johnson’s right to access parliament as former MP.

He also denounced the committee’s proposed sanction of a 90-day suspension from parliament as “vindictive”.

He also told MPs that it was “absolutely legitimate to criticise the conduct of a committee, to criticise the members of a committee”, adding: “That is politics.”

“Our politics is adversarial… it is open to us within this chamber to accuse people within the bounds of good order of saying things that we disagree with. Outside this chamber freedom of speech is paramount.”

He added: “We must defend the right of freedom of speech. And, frankly, if politicians cannot cope with criticism you wonder what on earth they are doing with a political career.”

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In a damning verdict issued last week, the cross-party panel also accused Mr Johnson of impugning the committee and being complicit in a “campaign of intimidation” against its members.

The former prime minister immediately hit back at what he called a “deranged conclusion” and branded the committee’s report a “charade”, adding: “I was wrong to believe in the committee or its good faith.”

“This is a dreadful day for MPs and for democracy,” he said, adding its investigation had delivered “what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination”.

Mr Johnson dramatically quit as an MP earlier this month after receiving the committee’s draft findings.

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