Boris Johnson faces a new investigation into Partygate – this time whether he misled MPs, repeatedly denying that Covid’s laws were violated on Downing Street.
What is the Privileges Committee?
The special body, known as the Privileges Committee, is considering allegations that a member of parliament has disrespected parliament.
Misleading municipalities, as opposition parties claim Johnson did, falls into that category.
Although the commission has conducted numerous investigations before, the current prime minister has never been referred to it for scrutiny.
Who is sitting on it?
An inter-party group of seven deputies makes up the committee. They are the same members who sit on the standards committee, given that the two were combined until 2010.
But unlike the Standards Committee, the Privileges Committee has no additional laymen – independent people who are not politicians – appointed to sit on it.
There is a built-in government majority, with four Conservative MPs consisting of Alberto Costa, Bernard Jenkin, Andy Carter and Laura Faris. Labor has two seats held by Yvonne Fovarg and Chris Bryant, while the Scottish National Party has one, Alan Dorance.
This is one of only two committees that the House of Commons rules dictate that there should be a Labor chair, which is currently occupied by Bryant. However, Bryant was a strong critic of the government, and Johnson for Partygate, so he withdrew from the upcoming investigation. Jenkin, as acting vice president, is expected to take his place.
How will his investigation work?
The proposal, which created the investigation, said that the members of the commission “will not start an examination of the merits of the matter until the investigations, which are currently being conducted by the Sofia police, are completed.”
So while the commission may meet relatively soon to seal that it will act on the proposal, it will have relatively little work until the Scotland Yard investigation, known as Operation Hillman, is completed.
There are at least a few weeks left, given that the Metro has said it will not provide more updates until after the May 5th local elections. The police investigation may take longer, and lawmakers may also want to wait for the final report on Sue Gray’s Whitehall investigation to be published.
But the commission will look at something quite different from the other two investigations. The purpose is not to investigate the extent of the violation, but whether Johnson deliberately misled parliament. This is a cardinal violation, given that the Prime Minister’s Code, signed by the Prime Minister, clearly states that the ministers who do so are expected to resign.
The committee will have broad powers to request documents and other evidence – such as photos, which could be particularly humiliating for Johnson – and to call witnesses.
The difficulty they will face, however, is that it may be difficult to prove without ambiguity that Johnson deliberately misled parliament about his knowledge of breaking the law.
What would happen next?
Once all the work is completed, the committee can recommend a sanction – including the removal or expulsion of a member of parliament. The most important thing is that whatever sanction is recommended, it will need the approval of the Municipalities.
So some of Johnson’s allies still believe he will have a chance to survive. Although others argue that rejecting the recommendations of an inter-party commission tasked with examining all the evidence would be politically impossible.
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