Prime minister Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure to break his silence over the parliamentary report into Boris Johnson’s conduct, as a backlash from Tory MPs deepens and Labour hurls accusations of weakness.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is set to challenge Sunak to declare a view on the House of Commons privileges committee report at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
Sunak insisted in advance of the report being put to a vote on Monday that it would be wrong for him to “influence” colleagues over whether to approve it.
The damning report condemned Johnson for lying to MPs about the partygate scandal of illegal gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, of lying to the committee during its probe, and of complicity in a campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the panel investigating him.
The findings, which included the recommendation that Johnson be banned from having a pass to access the Commons, were overwhelmingly approved by a majority of 347 MPs on Monday, with just seven voting against.
Former Conservative prime minister Theresa May led criticism of Sunak during the parliamentary debate on the report, taking a veiled swipe at the prime minister over his absence during the vote, warning that it was “doubly important” for Conservative MPs to take action when one of their own was found “wanting”.
Tory MPs’ frustration with Sunak’s silence over the report’s findings grew on Tuesday after Downing Street said the prime minister “thanks the committee for their thorough work” and “fully respects the decision of the House”, but insisted the vote was a matter for parliament rather than the government.
Sunak blamed a diary clash for missing the vote, but his spokesperson declined to set out the prime minister’s view on the report or indicate how he would have voted if present.
One former Cabinet minister, who voted to approve the report, said: “I’m not impressed. It was a chance for him [Sunak] to send a very clear signal beyond the party, to the public at large, that things had changed. He’s chosen party management instead. It’s an opportunity missed.”
Another senior Tory MP who voted in support of the report said: “I couldn’t disagree more strongly with how Rishi is handling it. He should be taking a lead on this.”
Labour has also seized on Sunak’s silence, preparing an attack video set to be released on Tuesday night accusing the prime minister of “refusing to condemn Boris Johnson’s contempt for the British people”.
One Labour official said the prime minister had a chance to “put a line in the sand, uphold democracy and draw a line. Instead, he wimped out because he won’t stand up to his party”.
While the majority of Tory MPs stayed away from parliament on Monday, with some spooked by threats of deselection from Johnson’s allies, 118 Conservatives voted to approve the report.
They included eight Cabinet ministers and at least a dozen other ministers, among them several figures widely tipped as potential future party leadership hopefuls: Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, education secretary Gillian Keegan and security minister Tom Tugendhat.
Their decision to back the privileges committee’s report would bolster any future attempt to frame themselves as candidates presenting a clean break from the Johnson era.
While Number 10 has sought to insist the saga over Johnson’s partygate lies to MPs is now a closed matter, the row over Johnson’s resignation honours list rumbles on.
Senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said Shaun Bailey, the former London mayoral candidate, should reconsider the peerage handed to him by Johnson after the emergence of footage showing his staff partying at the height of the pandemic.
Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride suggested to the BBC that there could be a way to block Bailey’s peerage, depending on the verdict of the Metropolitan Police about the gathering of Tory activists. However only an act of parliament can remove peerages.
Bailey has apologised for the party, which he attended, but said it was for “others to decide” if his peerage should be rescinded.