Boris Johnson was found guilty by a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday of having “deliberately” lied to the British Parliament on several occasions in the “partygate” affair. The former Tory leader, who is set to turn 59, clapped back his MP seat last week after being notified of the damning findings of a 14-month investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdowns anti covid-19.
He then denounced a “witch hunt” and attacked his successor Rishi Sunak, who must now manage a heavy enemy determined not to leave in silence, and who once again let his anger burst Thursday. “The commission has not found the slightest evidence” against us, reacted Boris Johnson in a long extremely aggressive press release, reaffirming that he thought he had done nothing wrong and denouncing the “lie” and the “sick” conclusions of the committee.
The commission asks for a 90-day suspension
He accused the commission of wanting to carry “the last stab of a political assassination” and stormed against a “masquerade”: “It is a dark day for deputies and for democracy. This decision means that no MP is safe from a blood feud or expulsion on the basis of trumped up accusations by a tiny minority”.
The committee was set to find out whether Boris Johnson lied to Parliament by repeatedly claiming that all health restrictions had been followed in Downing Street, in a case which has already earned him a police fine and was a major factor in his departure from Downing Street last year. No longer sitting in the House of Commons, he no longer risks much. The report says the commission would have recommended a 90-day suspension if Boris Johnson hadn’t walked out, a very harsh punishment that would likely have triggered a by-election.
The document, which must still be submitted to the vote of the deputies, nevertheless requests that its access to the premises of the Parliament, generally granted to former Prime Ministers, be withdrawn.
A “campaign of intimidation”
In addition to having lied to Parliament, the report considers that the former leader “undermined democratic processes” and was “accomplicated” in a “campaign of intimidation” against the work of the Committee on privileges. He denounces Boris Johnson’s very virulent resignation letter, with the accents of Donald Trump, as an “attack on British democratic institutions”.
In March, heard for more than three hours by the commission, Boris Johnson had affirmed “hand on heart” that he had not lied to Parliament. A year after his resignation from Downing Street, where he spent three years marred by scandals, his resounding departure prevents any return to power of the ex-journalist and mayor of London, pending a possible re-election in the legislative elections scheduled for next year. .