Commons Privileges Committee investigation into Boris Johnson

This article is part of a series about Boris Johnson
Political positions Electoral history Public image MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP for Henley Electoral history {{{2}}} 2008 mayoral election 2012 mayoral election 2016 EU referendum causes aftermath 2019 leadership election polling endorsements 2019 general election 2021 local elections 2022 local elections Mayor of London Mayoralty 2008 mayoral election London Britannia Airport Santander Cycles New Routemaster 2011 riots London Cable Car 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Summer Paralympics Garden Bridge Brexit Vote Leave 2016 explored candidacy Foreign Secretary Tenure as Foreign Secretary Yemen intervention Zaghari-Ratcliffe case 2018 Salisbury attack Chequers plan Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership International trips Minister for the Union First ministry and term (July – December 2019) First ministry (minority) Suspension of rebel MPs Benn Act 2019 prorogation Supreme Court case Brexit deal renegotiation revised deal Get Brexit Done Second ministry and term (December 2019 – September 2022) Second ministry (majority) departures 2020 reshuffle 2021 reshuffle EU Withdrawal Agreement Northern Ireland Protocol EU trade negotiation cooperation agreement COVID-19 pandemic government response lockdown vaccinations contracts contract controversies Dominic Cummings scandal Partygate Evacuations from Afghanistan Levelling up COP26 Refurb controversy Owen Paterson scandal Rwanda asylum plan Murder of David Amess Proposed NI increase British support for Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Cost of living crisis Conservative Party confidence vote Chris Pincher scandal Government crisis July 2022 reshuffle leadership election House of Commons confidence vote Resignation Honours Post-premiership 2022 explored candidacy endorsements Privileges Committee investigation 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election Bibliography Friends, Voters, Countrymen Seventy-Two Virgins The Dream of Rome The Churchill Factor Unleashed
v t e

The UK House of Commons Committee of Privileges inquiry into the matter referred on 21 April 2022 on the conduct of Boris Johnson concerns four specific assertions made by the then Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions about "the legality of activities in 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office under Covid regulations", events commonly referred to as Partygate. The investigation is concerned with whether Johnson misled the Commons when he made these statements.^[1] Johnson resigned over the investigation after having been sent a draft copy of the committee's report.

The Committee had voted on the final report text and unanimously supported it. They concluded that Johnson had deliberately misled the House, a contempt of Parliament. They said that, had he still been an MP, they would have recommended a 90 day suspension.^[2] The report stated that Johnson tried to "rewrite the meaning" of COVID rules "to fit his own evidence" for example that "a leaving gathering or a gathering to boost morale was a lawful reason to hold a gathering."^[3] They concluded he was guilty of further contempts of Parliament and that he breached confidentiality requirements by criticising the Committee's provisional findings when he resigned.^[2]

The Commons debated the report on 19 June 2023. Labour forced a vote and the Commons voted 354 to 7 in support, with a large number of abstentions. This was an absolute majority of the Commons. 118 Conservative MPs, including 15 ministers, voted for the report and 225 abstained. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had earlier said he had other commitments, and did not attend the debate and refused to say how he would have voted.