Only seven Tories back Boris Johnson as Commons votes that he lied to parliament

Rishi Sunak accused of being ‘too weak’ to stand up to Johnson, as PM dodges Commons showdown which saw scathing report approved

Boris Johnson has endured a final humiliation over the Partygate scandal in parliament as MPs backed the scathing report which found he deliberately lied to the Commons and just seven Tories voted in his favour.

Rishi Sunak was accused of being “too weak” to stand up to Mr Johnson and his “sycophants” after the PM ducked the Commons debate as the privileges committee report was approved by the opposition and 118 Tory MPs.

Parliament’s damning verdict on Mr Johnson came as Metropolitan Police launched a new investigation into alleged breaches of Covid laws at No 10, Chequers, inside parliament and Conservative Party HQ.

The fresh probe includes the Christmas party where Tory staffers were filmed dancing and joking about “bending” Covid rules – as it emerged on Monday that the activists were formally invited to a “jingle and mingle” party.

Senior Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant told The Independent: “It feels like justice takes a long time to turn the bend – finally, chickens are coming home to roost.”

Although Mr Johnson dodged the recommended 90-day suspension by quitting his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, he will be stripped of his parliamentary pass after the committee’s findings that he repeatedly lied over Partygate were approved in a vote.

Some 354 MPs backed the Partygate report, while just seven Tories voted against it – a majority of 347. No vote was recorded for 225 Conservative MPs.

The division list released immediately after the vote contained six names in the noes rather than seven announced in the chamber. It said the Tory MPs who backed Mr Johnson were Sir Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler.

Some of the former prime minister’s staunchest allies boycotted the vote after the hours-long debate, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, who announced she planned to quit over the fallout from Mr Johnson’s resignation honours.

Only seven MPs backed Boris Johnson (PA Wire)

Mr Sunak was accused of “running scared” of Monday night’s showdown in parliament on Mr Johnson, with No 10 claiming he had been too busy hosting the Swedish prime minister to attend.

The PM said earlier on Monday that he did not want to “influence anyone” when pressed on how he would vote on the report, which found Mr Johnson lied to parliament and undermined the committee’s work with personal attacks.

Ms Dorries said Mr Sunak did not vote because he “would have upset” backers of his predecessor, tweeting: “Of course Rishi Sunak didn’t vote, if he did, he would have upset the Tory members and voters who support Boris Johnson – and more do support Boris, than Rishi.

“Those people aren’t stupid though and they also have long memories.”

But former prime minister Theresa May did turn up to condemn Mr Johnson – arguing that her successor had been “found wanting” and urging all Tory MPs to back the report to help “restore faith in our parliamentary democracy.”

Boris Johnson stripped of parliamentary pass (AP)

Senior Labour MP Harriet Harman, the chair of the privileges committee, defended her work and added: “Even if you’re the prime minister – especially if you’re the prime minister – you must tell the truth to parliament.”

She clashed with Jacob Rees-Mogg, who challenged her over ”famous” tweets criticising Mr Johnson, telling the Tory MP that the government had told her it had confidence in her leadership of the committee. “I was assured that I should continue the work … and so I did just that.”

Leading Tory peer Gavin Barwell condemned Mr Sunak’s attempt to keep clear of the row. “I want my prime minister to try to influence people – specifically those MPs, journalists and voters who are still defending Johnson, and to lead from the front in restoring standards.”

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said Mr Sunak showed he is “too weak to stand up to Boris Johnson and his sycophants, which is profoundly dangerous, because if we can’t have a prime minister that stand up for standards, what have we got?”

Mr Johnson had called on his supporters not to oppose the report after they lashed out at its verdict last week, making its approval a formality. But several Tory allies – including Mr Rees-Mogg, Bill Cash and Lia Nici – did turn up to defend their old boss.

Mr Rees-Mogg compared the privileges committee to “communist China”, and said the move to strip Mr Johnson of his parliamentary pass was going “from the vindictive to the ridiculous”.

The former cabinet minister said: “For some reason the privileges committee thinks it’s in communist China, and that we must kowtow, and then they go on to say that Mr Johnson was ‘complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of committee’ without one single, solidarity shred of evidence.”

Another Boris backer Nick Fletcher argued that only Conservative MPs should be allowed to judge if fellow Tories have broken the rules. “If Man City’s star player had to sit in front of seven of his peers for a hearing how fair would it be if three of them were Man United players? Not very.”

Fellow Johnson loyalist Brendan Clarke-Smith MP – having vowed to vote against the report – was mocked for going to watch the Ashes rather than join “silly games” in parliament. Mr Bryant told the Tory MP he was “not doing your job”, while Lib Dem councillor Alex Sandiford added: “You were not elected to watch sport.”

Rishi Sunak condemned for ‘running scared’ of vote on Boris Johnson (Getty)

Several senior Tory MPs hit the campaign trail in Uxbridge and South Ruislip for candidate Steve Tuckwell on Monday, including Conservative chairman Greg Hands and Tory whip Stuart Anderson. One Twitter user replied: “Dodging the vote are we?”

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard announced that it was “assessing information and new material” over events in 2020 and 2021, including material passed by the Cabinet Office about gatherings at No 10 and Chequers while Mr Johnson was in charge.

The force said it was also assessing media reporting of “alleged breaches in parliament” and looking at previously unseen video footage of a Christmas gathering at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in December 2020.

An invitation to the event obtained by BBC News read: “JINGLE AND MINGLE: Save the date – Monday December 14th at 6pm for the Shaun Bailey for London holiday party.”

It added to the pressure on Mr Sunak to strip the failed mayoral candidate Mr Bailey of the peerage he was given in Mr Johnson’s honours list, and the OBE given to aide Ben Mallet, also visible in the video.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “While the Conservatives ‘jingled and mingled’, the British public followed the rules and did the right thing,” adding: “Sunak should personally intervene and urge those implicated to give up their honours.”

No 10 said there were “no plans” for Mr Sunak to strip honours from two Tories who were at the party at CCHQ. His official spokesman said the PM had “followed the process” of leaving resignation honours to the Lords authorities.