https://sputnikglobe.com/20230615/boris-johnson-hits-back-at-hypocrisy-of-partygate-kangaroo-court-1111178046.html
Boris Johnson Hits Back at 'Hypocrisy' of Partygate 'Kangaroo Court'
Boris Johnson Hits Back at 'Hypocrisy' of Partygate 'Kangaroo Court'
Sputnik International
Boris Johnson left Downing Street last September following a series of media scandals, the last being groping allegations against his deputy chief whip. But his supporters say he was the victim of a political assassination.
2023-06-15T13:05+0000
2023-06-15T13:05+0000
2023-06-15T13:05+0000
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Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has launched a counter-offensive against fellow MPs who found him in contempt of Parliament.Johnson published an open letter to the Parliamentary Standards Committee on Thursday to coincide with the release of its report into his conduct over after-hours partying by Downing Street staff during the two COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, including leaving parties for senior staff which he attended.He accused the committee and particularly chairwoman Harriet Harman, a former acting leader of the opposition Labour Party, of bias against him. He linked the inquiry to the political issue of Britain's exit from the European Union by noting that most of the committee's members voted to remain.Johnson also accused one member, fellow Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, of "hypocrisy" after it emerged on Wednesday that he attended a birthday party for his wife at the House of Commons on December 8 2020.Former digital, culture, media and sport secretary Nadine Dorries — who was denied a peerage after the House of Lords Appointments Commission overruled Johnson's resignation honours list — filed a formal complaint against Jenkin on Wednesday evening.The committee's inquiry followed a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray — who Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has since appointed as his party's chief of staff.'Partygate' AllegationsThe committee's report accused Johnson of deliberately misleading Parliament when he stated that he knew of no breaches of temporary COVID-19 lockdown laws at Number 10, where he allowed staff working late to enjoy alcoholic drinks at their desks when pubs and restaurants were closed across the country.It stated that it would have suspended the former PM for an unprecedented 90 days if he had not already announced he was standing down as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip earlier this week after receiving an early copy of the report. Such a suspension would have allowed a recall petition to be launched against the MP in his seat, potentially paving the way for a new election there — although polls suggested Johnson would win easily.Among the incidents highlighted in the report was the surprise birthday party thrown for Johnson by his wife Carrie in the Number 10 Cabinet Room in June 2020, where the PM and his successor, then-chancellor Rishi Sunak, were photographed holding cans of beer. Both were fined £50 by the police after an investigation "in circumstances that I still find puzzling (I had lunch at my desk with people I worked with every day)" Johnson wrote.Others included parties for staff leaving Downing Street for other jobs, where Johnson gave speeches — as recorded by an official photographer, he was quick to point out.The PM said he "correctly" believed those gatherings were legal and "necessary for work purposes" and that he had advice from civil servants that it was."We had hundreds of staff engaged in what was sometimes a round-the-clock struggle against COVID," Johnson insisted. "Their morale mattered for that fight. It was important for me to thank them."Johnson resigned as PM in July 2022, not over the Partygate allegations but after a scandal over Chris Pincher, his choice of deputy chief whip, groped a fellow Tory MP at a West End private members' club. Sunak led a mass walkout from Johnson's cabinet, prompting his exit days later.
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boris johnson's response to the partygate inquiry, britain's exit from the european union (brexit), was boris johnson the victim of a political vendetta?
boris johnson's response to the partygate inquiry, britain's exit from the european union (brexit), was boris johnson the victim of a political vendetta?
Boris Johnson Hits Back at 'Hypocrisy' of Partygate 'Kangaroo Court'
Boris Johnson left Downing Street last September following a series of media scandals, the last being groping allegations against his deputy chief whip. But his supporters say he was the victim of a political assassination by vindictive opponents of Brexit.
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has launched a counter-offensive against fellow MPs who found him in contempt of Parliament.
Johnson published an open letter to the Parliamentary Standards Committee on Thursday to coincide with the release of its report into his conduct over after-hours partying by Downing Street staff during the two COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, including leaving parties for senior staff which he attended.
He accused the committee and particularly chairwoman Harriet Harman, a former acting leader of the opposition Labour Party, of bias against him. He linked the inquiry to the political issue of Britain's
exit from the European Union by noting that most of the committee's members voted to remain.
Johnson also accused one member, fellow Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, of "hypocrisy" after it emerged on Wednesday that he attended a birthday party for his wife at the House of Commons on December 8 2020.
"Why was it illegal for me to thank staff and legal for Sir Bernard to attend his wife’s birthday party?" Johnson asked? "The hypocrisy is rank. Like Harriet Harman, he should have recused himself from the inquiry, since he is plainly conflicted."
Former digital, culture, media and sport secretary
Nadine Dorries — who was denied a peerage after the House of Lords Appointments Commission overruled Johnson's resignation honours list — filed a formal complaint against Jenkin on Wednesday evening.
The committee's inquiry followed a report by senior civil servant
Sue Gray — who Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has since appointed as his party's chief of staff.
The committee's report accused Johnson of deliberately misleading Parliament when he stated that he knew of no breaches of temporary COVID-19 lockdown laws at Number 10, where he allowed staff working late to enjoy alcoholic drinks at their desks when pubs and restaurants were closed across the country.
It stated that it would have suspended the former PM for an unprecedented 90 days if he had not already announced he was standing down as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip earlier this week after receiving an early copy of the report. Such a suspension would have allowed a recall petition to be launched against the MP in his seat, potentially paving the way for a new election there — although polls suggested Johnson would win easily.
Among the incidents highlighted in the report was the surprise
birthday party thrown for Johnson by his wife Carrie in the Number 10 Cabinet Room in June 2020, where the PM and his successor, then-chancellor Rishi Sunak, were photographed holding cans of beer.
Both were fined £50 by the police after an investigation "in circumstances that I still find puzzling (I had lunch at my desk with people I worked with every day)" Johnson wrote.
Others included parties for staff leaving Downing Street for other jobs, where Johnson gave speeches — as recorded by an official photographer, he was quick to point out.
The PM said he "correctly" believed those gatherings were legal and "necessary for work purposes" and that he had advice from civil servants that it was.
"We had hundreds of staff engaged in what was sometimes a round-the-clock struggle against COVID," Johnson insisted. "Their morale mattered for that fight. It was important for me to thank them."
"But don’t just listen to me. Take it from the Metropolitan Police," he wrote. "The police investigated my role at all of those events. In no case did they find that what I had done was unlawful. Above all it did not cross my mind – as I spoke in the House of Commons – that the events were unlawful."
Johnson resigned as PM in July 2022, not over the Partygate allegations but after a scandal over Chris Pincher, his choice of deputy chief whip, groped a fellow Tory MP at a West End private members' club. Sunak led a mass walkout from Johnson's cabinet, prompting his exit days later.
