Boris Johnson to be denied Parliamentary pass as MPs back Partygate report by vote of 354 to 7

MPs overwhelmingly voted to sanction Boris Johnson on Monday night for lying to Parliament over Partygate, as Rishi Sunak attempted to sidestep the divisions in his party over the ex-PM’s legacy.

The Commons vote of 354 to 7 came after more than five hours of debate on the Priveleges Committes’ report into Mr Johnson.

118 Tory MPs backed the report, while 225 abstained and seven opposed it – underlining the fractures between different factions in the party.

The split also reached Cabinet. Mr Sunak and most of his allies abstained, in an apparent bid to avoid a visible showdown with Mr Johnson’s allies on the Tory right – but five Cabinet ministers voted in favour of the report: Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Technology Secretary Chloe Smith and Welsh Secretary David TC Davies.

Mr Johnson himself had indicated to supporters that they should abstain rather than attempt to block his punishment, arguing that the sanctions have no practical effect – with only his most fervent outriders voting to block the Committee’s findings.

The cross-party committee had concluded that Mr Johnson, who has quit as an MP and labelled the panel a “kangaroo court”, should have faced a 90-day suspension for misleading the House when he told the Commons that Covid rules were obeyed in No 10 despite parties taking place.

If Mr Johnson were still an MP, the outcome would trigger a humiliating by-election in his marginal Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency. Instead, it was recommended he be denied a pass to the parliamentary estate, typically offered to ex-MPs.

Mr Sunak had stayed away from the debate, with No 10 insisting that he had other commitments, including a meeting with Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson.

He had been accused of “running scared” for refusing to say whether he would take part in a potential vote. Labour had urged Mr Sunak to “show leadership” on the issue, but had insisted that he did not want to “influence” how MPs might vote.

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Theresa May and Penny Mordaunt were among Tories to publicly lambast Mr Johnson ahead of the vote.

Mrs May added: “We bear responsibility to put the people we serve first, to be honest to one another and uphold the standards of this place.

“When something is said that is wrong and misleads this house we are all under obligation not to repeat it and to correct the record.”

Ms Mordaunt insisted that the verdict of the standards watchdog “matters because the integrity of our institutions matter” in a full-throated backing of the findings of the committee.

Dozens of Tory MPs chose to skip the vote on the watchdog’s report, but several of Mr Johnson’s diehard supporters spoke out against the verdict of the committee’s investigation that found he lied to the Commons over Partygate.

Taking a leading pro-Johnson position was Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, handed a knighthood by Mr Johnson last week, who said it was “perfectly reasonable” to challenge the views of parliamentary committees.

The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, told the BBC the Prime Minister should participate if there is a Commons vote, saying: “He should show leadership – come along, get in the lobby and show us where he stands on this.”

The Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Refusing to back this motion would be an insult to bereaved families who grieved alone while Johnson lied and partied. The buck stops at the very top.”

Conservative MPs were given a free vote, but allies of Mr Johnson warned they could face battles with their local parties to remain as candidates at the next election if they backed the motion.

MPs including Labour’s Jess Phillips and Dawn Butler referred to Boris Johnson as a “liar” during the debate – a significant moment, as accusing someone of lying would be considered unparliamentary conduct in most cases.

Ms Butler, who was thrown out of the Commons chamber in 2021 after saying Boris Johnson had “lied to this house time and time again”, said she would ask for the Parliamentary record relating to the incident to be corrected to confirm that Mr Johnson was in fact a liar. Mr Johnson “knew that we knew he was lying, but the system protected him,” she said.

Ms Phillips said Mr Johnson was “either lying or he is thick,” describing it as a “crying shame” that Rishi Sunak had not given the report his full-throated backing and “couldn’t take five seconds out of parroting his pledges to tell us what he thinks should happen”.

Harriet Harman, Chair of the Privileges Committee, said Tory members of her committee had “to withstand a campaign of threats, intimidation and harassment” and had “not given in to the intimidation”.