A report that accuses Boris Johnson of misleading Parliament regarding a violation of the Covid rules is being debated by Conservative MPs.
The former prime minister has referred to the Privileges Committee's conclusions as "deranged," and his most ardent supporters are planning to vote against them.
However, given that Mr. Johnson still enjoys support from many party members, other Tory MPs are undecided about what to do.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's attendance at the vote has not been confirmed by No. 10.
He hasn't had time to fully think about the report yet. According to the PM's official spokesman, he does intend to take the time to do that.
The long-awaited report of the committee was released on Thursday morning.
It claimed that the former prime minister had repeatedly lied when he denied Partygate and had purposefully misled Parliament about lockdown parties.
On Monday, MPs will have the chance to accept or reject the report's recommendations.
If Mr. Johnson was still a member of the House of Commons, the vote on whether to suspend him for 90 days and call a by-election to replace him would be taking place.
However, Mr. Johnson has already announced his resignation, and his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency will hold a by-election on July 20.
Therefore, the primary sanction that can be applied is depriving him of the parliamentary pass that ex-MPs are typically permitted to have.
However, there is a problem for many Conservatives. Voting against the report's recommendations runs the risk of alienating the local party activists who want Mr. Johnson removed from office, while voting in favor runs the risk of upsetting Mr. Johnson's supporters who feel he has been unfairly pursued out of Parliament.
As a result, many people might decide to abstain in order to stay out of the voting process. .
The BBC spoke with a number of Conservative MPs who preferred not to be identified.
A former government minister told the BBC that they intended to vote in favor of the report on Monday, but they did not want to announce it publicly just yet in case "something happens" over the weekend.
Another person remarked, "I think I'm torn between voting for the report and abstaining, the latter only because voting for it will enrage members. " .
The report speaks for itself, according to a senior party official. They called the 90-day suspension "a little difficult, but hey-ho.
Tim Loughton, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, told the BBC that he was likely to back the report and called the committee's findings "damning" and "legitimate.".
When asked if the majority of Conservatives would concur, he responded, "I think so. There may be some who will want to abstain, and there will be some of his dwindling band of loyalists who want to repeat some of the barbs he has thrown at the committee. But I'd be really surprised if this doesn't go through very easily next week. ".
Conservatives have criticized Mr. Sunak, with one saying to the BBC: "What disappoints me is the current PM has made no public comments that this is a sad end to a distinguished political career - the failure of the PM to say something complimentary about Boris Johnson seems to me irresponsible.". ".
Twelve Conservatives have so far publicly criticized the committee:.
- A Johnson ally named Nadine Dorries suggested that Conservatives who support the report should be expelled from the party.
- Why not go all out and hang Boris and give him rotten food to throw at him, Sir James Duddridge questioned in a tweet.
- Liz Truss, who succeeded Mr. Johnson as prime minister, told GB News that while she would not call into question the committee's honesty, their judgment seemed "very harsh.".
While acknowledging that the majority of MPs would probably vote in favor of the report, Jacob Rees-Mogg said he would "probably" vote against it. It is anticipated that the findings of the committee will be backed by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP.
When the motion to approve the report is brought before the House of Commons on June 19, which is also Mr. Johnson's 59th birthday, lawmakers will have the opportunity to amend it.
Boris Johnson appointed Lord Caine as a minister for Northern Ireland in 2019. In his remarks, Lord Caine mentioned how his mother's funeral took place during the pandemic and said he could see why people might be upset about Mr. Johnson's actions.
He explained to BBC Northern Ireland's The View politics program that he had to give a eulogy to the other nine mourners in the chapel before returning home and spending the rest of the afternoon alone in her home. .
"I have never in my life felt so alone. Therefore, I think people might infer their own conclusions about how I feel, and I imagine a lot of people across the nation will feel the same way. ".
After a year-long investigation, the Privileges Committee's report concluded that Mr. Johnson had "personal knowledge" of violations of the Code of Conduct in Downing Street but had repeatedly neglected to "pro-actively investigate" the matter.
Contrary to what Mr. Johnson said at the time in the House of Commons, the committee claimed officials did not inform Mr. Johnson that social distancing rules were always followed.
In crucial testimony, Martin Reynolds, one of Mr. Johnson's highest-ranking officials, claimed he had advised the prime minister against making the claim and questioned whether it was "realistic.".
After seeing a draft of the Committee's report last Friday, the former prime minister declared that he would resign as a member of parliament with immediate effect.
He called the committee a "kangaroo court," called its conclusions "deranged," and accused the committee's Labour chairwoman, Harriet Harman, of bias in a vicious statement.
The initial proposed sanction was increased, according to the Privileges Committee, "in light of Mr. Johnson's conduct" over the past few days, which included violating confidentiality laws and "being complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee.". .
They deemed Mr. Johnson's statement to be "wholly unacceptable.".
In response to the report, Daisy Cooper of the Liberal Democrats and Angela Rayner of Labour both said that Mr. Johnson had "completely disgraced himself" and treated Parliament with "total disdain.". It was a "dark day" for Westminster, according to SNP leader Humza Yousaf.
Sir Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative member of the committee, was called out by Mr. Johnson the day before the report was released for allegedly violating Covid rules in Parliament.
The BBC was unable to independently confirm the assertions. A comment from Sir Bernard has been requested.
Following media reports of alleged violations of the Health Protection Regulations, the Met Police reported receiving "a third-party report.".
The statement continued, "The data is being evaluated. Officers have not contacted the Speaker's Office about this matter, and there is no investigation underway.
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