Michael Gove rejects Boris Johnson’s claim that the Privileges Committee is a ‘kangaroo court’
Michael Gove has rejected Boris Johnson’s claim that he was the victim of a ‘kangaroo court’, but refused to say whether he would agree with the Privileges Committee’s findings on the former prime minister and ‘partygate’
The Minister of Housing and Utilities also suggested this morning that the Government is now trying to move on from the drama caused by the resignation of the former Prime Minister as an MP. “The government is taking on the most important thing,” he said Times Radio.
It comes as the panel of MPs looking into claims that Boris Johnson lied to Parliament about meetings in Downing Street during the lockdown gathers to complete the inquiry. MPs predict he will face strong condemnation of his behaviour.
Mr Johnson sent shockwaves through Westminster on Friday by announcing his decision to stand down as an MP.
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In his resignation letter, he accused the privileges committee of “bias,” calling the inquiry into whether he had misled the public a “witch hunt.” He said MPs were trying to “take revenge for Brexit and ultimately reverse the 2016 referendum result”.
Asked if he agreed with Mr Johnson that the committee was a “kangaroo court”, Mr Gove said the committee, chaired by Harriet Harmon, was “properly made up … with excellent and experienced members of Parliament”.
He told Sky News: “None of us have read the report yet, so we’ll have to wait and see and judge later. But no, I wouldn’t call the committee a kangaroo court, not at all.”
Parliament’s seven-member Privileges Committee – with a Conservative majority and chaired by Labour’s Harriet Harmon – responded to Mr Johnson’s allegations on Friday. He released a statement saying, “The committee has consistently followed the procedures and mandate of the House of Representatives and will continue to do so.
It added: “Mr. Johnson has withdrawn from the proceedings of the House of Representatives and by his statement called into question the integrity of the House of Representatives. The committee will meet on Monday to complete its investigation and issue its report immediately.”
Asked whether he would accept any of the committee’s findings, Mr Gove said Times Radio: “None of us has seen the report yet. This is a properly formed committee of the parliament, the parliament voted for its establishment, established the powers, the people in it are excellent parliamentarians.
“But until we see the report, I think it would be premature for me to make any judgment.”
Senior MPs have called for Boris Johnson to be blocked from standing again for the House of Commons, as the Conservative Party tries to draw a line under the drama caused by the former prime minister’s resignation.
Tobias Ellwood, a former minister and chairman of the Conservative Select Committee on Defence, said Sky News that a majority of MPs will vote in favor of what the Privileges Committee recommends as a sanction for Boris Johnson.
While he said there was “enormous adulation and love for Boris Johnson”, Mr Ellwood added: “That adulation has turned into enormous disappointment and disillusionment as he leaves the political battlefield.”
“Everyone is just amazed that he’s leaving in this way, leaving so much damage behind,” he added.
He said he hoped the party could “draw a line” under the Johnson era.
Asked if Mr Johnson could return to parliament, Mr Ellwood said: “How can any Conservative association accept him after what he has done now, given the fight we have to try to win at the next general election ?”.
