Boris Johnson is to face the Liaison Committee, comprised of the chairs of all Commons select committees, this Wednesday, amid charges of sleaze within his Conservative party. The PM will be in the hot seat amid backlash from the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and row over MPs second jobs, while also answering questions on issues such as COVOD-19, COP26, violence against women and girls, and the recent Budget and Spending Review.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson points during the weekly question time debate at the House of Commons in London, Britain March 10, 2021
© REUTERS / JESSICA TAYLOR
The main focus is expected to be on ethics and standards after Johnson’s government U-turned on a bid to block the parliamentary suspension of ex-MP Paterson, found guilty of paid advocacy on behalf of two companies, and to overhaul the disciplinary process for MPs.
Chair of the Liaison Committee, Senior Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, said the PM's grilling in the House of Commons is "becoming an increasingly significant event".
"It's the one time where a cross-party group of MPs can question the prime minister on detail, and on a non-partisan basis. The feedback shows that the public is highly engaged with this kind of scrutiny, particularly when it is forward-looking and constructive," Jenkin was cited by Sky News as saying.
Regarding his role in the session, Jenkin underscored that he intended to make sure the PM answer the questions, adding, "If they're fair questions I press him to answer them."
Fallout From Sleaze, Second Jobs Row
Last quizzed by the panel in July Boris Johnson is to face MPs in the wake of the humiliating episode that involved the government U-turning on its plan to save former Tory MP Paterson from suspension by approving a report that found he committed an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules, which it had initially blocked.
In the “Propriety and ethics in government” section of the evidence session on Wednesday, Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the standards committee, will be joined by Conservative MP William Wragg, chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee – one of the 13 Tories who had broken ranks and voted to approve Paterson's suspension and against an overhaul of the standards rules.
Conservative MP Owen Paterson (R) and former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage arrive for a press conference on the impact of Brexit on the fisheries industry in London on February 28, 2017
© AFP 2023 / JUSTIN TALLIS
Bryant’s committee had found Paterson had fallen foul of a number of lobbying rules, in what the Labour MP described as a “very fair hearing", recommending he be suspended for 30 days.
On Tuesday, MPs finally endorsed a report that found Paterson, who has since resigned, guilty of breaching lobbying rules, and scrapped the body that was to be set up to give him a right of appeal, putting to bed Boris Johnson’s embarrassing U-turn after he tried to rethink the parliamentary standards system. The day before, Tory MP Christopher Chope had been the sole person to object to rescinding the motion to review standards.
Chris Bryant, who had lambasted the row over standards as having inflicted "terrible, terrible reputational damage" to parliament amid attempts to "lobby" and "bully" standards committee members, said he was pleased that the final decision would “draw a line under the unfortunate events of recent weeks”.
MPs Second Jobs Proposal
The session in front of the Liaison Committee will be the first time Boris Johnson will be questioned on his proposal to ban MPs from having second jobs as political consultants or lobbyists, which he announced on Tuesday afternoon.
On the eve of his appearance before the Committee, Johnson wrote to parliament's speaker to say he will back the Labour Party’s proposals to bar British lawmakers from acting as paid political consultants and advisers.
"It is imperative that we put beyond doubt the reputation of the House of Commons by ensuring the rules which apply to MPs are up to date, effective and appropriately rigorous," he was cited as writing.
The opposition Labour party had prepared to introduce a vote on Wednesday to bar MPs from such roles. UK lawmakers are allowed to hold outside roles, as long as they declare them. However, they cannot use their parliamentary offices or resources for such work, with paid lobbying also forbidden.
Amid the sleaze scandal, it emerged that many other MPs had high-paying second jobs, with lawyer and former attorney general Geoffrey Cox, in particular, accused of using his parliamentary office for outside legal work that netted him over £6 million ($8 million) since 2005.
Britain's Attorney General Geoffrey Cox leaves number 10 Downing Street in central London on January 21, 2020, following a meeting of the cabinet
© AFP 2023 / TOLGA AKMEN
According to Downing Street, Johnson would table an amendment to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s proposal to ban MPs from being paid for working as political consultants and advisers. The amendment would “toughen up” the proposal by adding that MPs should be investigated and “appropriately punished” if they were found to be prioritising other jobs over their taxpayer-funded role.
In the letter to the Speaker published on Tuesday, the prime minister said implementing both proposals would “form the basis of a viable approach which could command the confidence of parliamentarians and the public”.