UK MPs vote to remove Boris Johnson parliamentary pass over Partygate
- British lawmakers approved a damning report that found the ex-prime minister had lied about gatherings that broke UK pandemic rules
- Johnson had pre-emptively resigned before the report’s release, thwarting the Privileges Committee’s recommendation to suspend him as an MP for 90 days
British MPs on Monday voted overwhelmingly to remove ex-prime minister Boris Johnson’s parliamentary pass as they approved a damning report that found he lied to parliament about Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties.
Following hours of debate, held on Johnson’s 59th birthday, MPs voted by 354 to seven in favour of the Privileges Committee’s findings, with many Conservatives, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, abstaining.
During the debate, MPs and a former prime minister lined up to urge colleagues to censure Johnson, who quit parliament when he was informed of the findings.
Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May said the vote would be “a small but important step in restoring people’s trust” in parliament. May urged her party to “show that we are prepared to act when one of our own, however senior, is found wanting”, in an apparent jibe at Sunak and his decision to abstain.
Johnson and his dwindling supporters have portrayed the report by the committee as a “witch hunt”. Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the committee had made a “deliberate attempt to take the most unfavourable interpretation … of Mr Johnson’s activities”.