Anticipation grows in UK as inquiry into ex-PM Boris Johnson's 'Partygate' is set to conclude

A UK parliamentary committee is concluding its inquiry into whether former Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled lawmakers over parties at his Downing Street office that breached Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. 

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson was forced to resign last summer after a succession of scandals. © BRANDON BELL / AFP

Members of the British Parliament's Privileges Committee pledged to continue with the investigation into Johnson’s conduct after he unexpectedly quit as an MP on Friday and angrily accused political opponents of driving him out in a “witch hunt”.

The committee was set to finalise its highly anticipated report by Monday, with British media reporting that the findings could be published in the coming days.

Ahead of the findings being made public, 58-year-old Johnson said the Privileges Committee told him he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament over the so-called “partygate” – a series of boozy parties and gatherings in his office that broke strict pandemic restrictions that his government had imposed on the country. 

He accused the seven-member committee – which has members from both the governing Conservatives and opposition parties – of bias and called it a “kangaroo court.”

In response, the committee said that Johnson “impugned the integrity” of Parliament with his attack.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stepped down as an MP as the Parliamentary committee investigating the “partygate” scandal is set to announce its final verdict on whether he had lied to the House of Commons.https://t.co/eZ5mXWxdOB

— The Epoch Times UK (@ukepochtimes) June 11, 2023

PM Sunak will back committee's findings

Meanwhile, Johnson's successor – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – backed the parliamentary committee Monday.

According to Sunak's spokesman, Max Blain, “This is a properly set up committee that the House [of Commons] has voted to carry out their work. The government will in no way traduce or criticize the work of the committee who are doing exactly what Parliament has asked them to do.”

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The committee could have suspended Johnson from the House of Commons if he was found to have lied deliberately.

A suspension of 10 days or more means that Johnson's constituents in his suburban London seat could petition to oust him and elect a new lawmaker. 

While Johnson has quit Parliament and will no longer be affected by any decision to suspend him, the committee could choose to apply other sanctions like barring him from entering Parliament's grounds. 

'Partygate' sparked exodus from Johnson's government

Revelations that Johnson and his staff held office parties, birthday celebrations and “wine time Fridays" in 2020 and 2021 – at a time when millions were prohibited from seeing loved ones or even attending family funerals – angered many Britons and added to a string of ethics scandals that spelled his downfall.

Johnson resigned as prime minister last summer after a mass exodus of government officials in protest of his leadership.

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Despite police having fined him and other senior officials for violating lockdown rules, Johnson has insisted that he didn't deliberately mislead Parliament over the gatherings. 

He has told the committee he “honestly believed” the five events he attended – including a send-off for a staffer and his own surprise birthday party – were “lawful work gatherings” intended to boost morale among overworked staff members coping with a deadly pandemic.