Boris Johnson’s political demise can be traced back to his key role in the 2016 Brexit referendum, argues Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The Brexit options minister, a loyal Johnson supporter who backed Liz Truss for the Tory leadership, suggested revenge-seeking Remainers had helped bring him down.
“I think part of the reason has to be Brexit,” he told GB News of Johnson’s downfall. “There are a lot of people who resent us leaving the European Union. And therefore the downing of the Brexit standard-bearer was a triumph for them.”
He added: “And you had people like Lord Heseltine and Lord Adonis saying no Boris, no Brexit. And I think they really meant it. And I really hope it’s not true.”
Rees-Mogg also called on Labor MP Harriet Harman to “step down” as chair of the House of Commons inquiry into whether the Prime Minister lied about Partygate.
The Tory minister said Harman’s critical tweets about Johnson should disqualify her from leading the cross-party privilege committee’s inquiry into whether he misled parliament about his knowledge of gatherings that broke the rules.
“I don’t believe you can have a fair verdict when the chairman of the committee has already considered the matter. And I think she should step down,” Rees-Mogg said of the Labor veteran.
He added: “I’m amazed she accepted it because she is, if I may say so, a good socialite. Oh, she is a very respectable person. She is admired by all parties. And I think she’s really hurting her reputation by putting herself in that position.
The cabinet minister’s attack on the committee chairman follows a warning from the government’s chief whip to all Tory MPs to keep quiet about the inquiry.
Johnson’s ally Nadine Dorries was accused of waging a “terrorist campaign” to discredit the inquiry after she called on Tory MPs on the cross-party committee to abandon the “witch hunt”.
In an email to all Tory MPs, Chief MP Chris Heaton-Harris urged colleagues to stop making critical remarks about the committee. “Invariably these comments will be misconstrued by those unwilling to help us.”
Meanwhile, Rees-Mogg said she thought Truss’ admission that she was wrong to side with the Remain campaign was “brilliant” and “refreshing”.
“She’s enthusiastic about Brexit – and that’s great. Because if we want to reap the benefits of Brexit, we need enthusiasm,” he said.
In an attack on Truss’s leadership rival Rishi Sunak, Rees-Mogg said: “The area where I think the government is not very strong is economic policy. But there is someone else I would blame for this.
The cabinet minister also downplayed the chances of Johnson ever returning as prime minister. “No one has come back after losing the party leadership since Gladstone. And I just don’t think that in today’s politics the chance of me coming back is realistic.”
The minister also said Johnson’s decision to hire Vote Leave chief Dominic Cummings had backfired as the councilor believed he was responsible.
“In the end it turned out that his eccentricity was absurd and selfish and that he thought he was prime minister, and that was never going to work,” he said.
In a fresh criticism of civil servants working from home, he said British officials were becoming “French” in their attitude to work.
“No one can do any work when it’s hot, apparently two days in a century and we all have to stay at home.
“Now what’s the excuse? Oh no, it’s August so no one can. We become French. We need to see people coming back to the office.”
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