Government drops attempt to delay decision on Johnson partygate investigation

Boris Johnson is set to face a parliamentary inquiry into whether he lied to MPs over the partygate scandal after the Government abandoned efforts to delay a decision on the issue.

The Prime Minister insisted he welcomed any scrutiny of his conduct but said he wanted MPs to have the “full facts” before launching an investigation.

MPs will vote on Thursday to decide whether a Commons committee should look into allegations that he misled the House with his denials about Downing Street parties during the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Johnson denied misleading MPs but suggested the Commons should wait for the conclusion of the police investigation and the publication of senior official Sue Gray’s report into the parties before any Privileges Committee inquiry.

The Prime Minister will miss the Commons vote on a Labour-led motion calling for the Privileges Committee investigation because he is on an official visit to India.

Tory MPs had initially been ordered to back a Government amendment which would defer any decision on referring the matter to the committee until after the conclusion of the Met Police inquiry.

But in a late U-turn shortly before the debate began, Commons Leader Mark Spencer said there would be a free vote for Tory MPs.

It follows speculation at Westminster that some Tory MPs were not prepared to back the Government’s attempt to kick the issue into the long grass.

Senior Government figures now expect the motion to pass, meaning Mr Johnson will face an investigation.

Asked on the first day of his trade mission to India whether he knowingly or unknowingly misled Parliament, Mr Johnson said: “Of course not.”

He told reporters: “I’m very keen for every possible form of scrutiny and the House of Commons can do whatever it wants to do.

“But all I would say is I don’t think that should happen until the investigation is completed.”

A senior Government source sought to explain the late change in the whipping arrangements, saying: “The Prime Minister has always been clear that he’s happy to face whatever inquiries Parliament sees fit and is happy for the House to decide how it wishes to proceed today and therefore will not be whipping Conservative MPs.

“They are free to vote according to how they believe we should move forward on this.

“We tabled an amendment last night because we wanted to be explicit about ensuring Sue Gray is able to complete and publish her report without any further delay, as well as allow the Metropolitan Police to conclude their investigations.

“We now recognise that – in practice – this is almost certainly likely to be the case and therefore we are happy for the Labour motion to go through if that is the will of the House.”

But deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “This is humiliating for Conservative MPs who were being pressured to vote for the Government’s cover-up amendment.

“The Government knew they couldn’t win this, the Prime Minister is bang to rights.

“Tory MPs should do the right thing, respect the sacrifices that their constituents made during the pandemic, and vote in the national interest.”

The Prime Minister has resisted calls to resign from opposition MPs and a handful of Tory rebels, and told reporters on his flight to Gujarat that “of course” he would fight the next general election.

Pressed on whether there were any circumstances under which he would consider resigning, Mr Johnson told journalists travelling with him: “Not a lot that spring to mind at the moment.

“But if you want to sketch some out I’m sure you could entertain your viewers with some imaginary circumstances in which I might have to resign, but I don’t propose to go into them, I can’t think of them right now.”

Mr Johnson’s aides are braced for him to receive multiple fines, having already been handed one fixed-penalty notice for the gathering on his 56th birthday.

He is thought to have been at six of the 12 events under investigation by Scotland Yard.

The motion being voted on by MPs suggests that comments “including but not limited to” four separate remarks in the Commons “appear to amount to misleading the House”.

The highlighted comments are:

– On December 1 2021, Mr Johnson told MPs “that all guidance was followed in No 10”.

– On December 8 2021, the Prime Minister told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.”

– Also on December 8 2021, he said: “I am sickened myself and furious about that, but I repeat what I have said to him: I have been repeatedly assured that the rules were not broken.”

– Finally on the same date: “The guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”

The motion, tabled by leading figures from seven opposition parties, says that the committee’s inquiry should not begin in earnest until the Metropolitan Police have concluded their own investigation into lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.