The parting shot of disgraced ex-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, seems to blame everyone else for his demise rather than himself. Not a surprise for anyone who has followed his career. Neither is it a surprise that the usual herd of nodding donkeys are loud in their claims that the Privileges Committee organised some sort of stitch-up and that it's a part of some conspiracy by the all-powerful, all-pervading but completely anonymous 'blob'. A good time to remember some basic facts.
The Privileges Committee
1. It has 7 members
2. The members are chosen by MPs
3. Only 2 are Labour. 4 are Tories (and 2 of these are as sound as you could probably get - for a Tory - and to impugn their integrity borders on slander)
4. It's overseen by a retired High Court judge to ensure impartiality and fair process
5. It can only make recommendations, it can't "kick people out of parliament"
6. MPs vote on whether to implement any recommendations they make
7. And Tories have a working majority of 68 MPs in the Commons, so could have voted no to the recommendations
8. Johnson was invited 5 times to rebuff evidence if he thought it was wrong, and refused 5 times
9. Johnson was advised by a top legal team, costing taxpayers £225,000. He chose to sack them rather than listen to their advice or fight back (probably because there's no defence).
The Inquiries
1. Sue Gray was appointed by him, and found him guilty of Partygate
2. The Metropolitan Police found him guilty too
3. He accepted their findings, paid the fines, and apologised publicly. So there's no way he can argue it's all false now
4. The Privileges Committee found he'd lied to parliament when he said there was no party. Because he did lie. There is photographic evidence of parties, which he attended, and which he doesn't deny. There's film of him denying it to MPs. No other outcome was possible.
The People
1. After the report was completed, Sue Gray - a very senior civil servant who had worked for Tories for over 12 years without any complaints from them - retired from the Civil Service She was free to do what she wanted and accepted a job with Labour
2. She did nothing wrong
3. A parliamentary inquiry set up by Tories found she did nothing wrong
4. Nobody in government has ever complained about her being anything less than a 100% impartial Civil Servant, which is why she worked under a Tory government for 12 years before Partygate
7. Chris Bryant, the original chair of the Privileges Committee, stood aside rather than risk being perceived as biased
8. A new chair (Harman) was chosen by MPs - and remember, a Tory majority of MPs could have blocked her appointment. They didn't.
Johnson's Resignation
1. The Committee recommended a long suspension from parliament NOT a sacking
2. Existing parliamentary law - it's been there over a decade - says constituents can petition for a by-election if their MP is suspended for more than 10 days.
3. If the voter petition had gone ahead, there would have been a by-election.
4. And Johnson would have been free to stand
5. Instead, he ran away. He didn't even wait until the final report was published, let alone face MPs, constituency petitions, or democratic votes.
.7. Nowhere in ANY of this is there a new process, a kangaroo court, or anything remotely unfair. It's demonstrably honest and open.
The truth is: Johnson broke the law with Partygate. Then he broke parliament's rules by lying about it. He set up the inquiries that concluded as much. And he quit rather than face the consequences of his actions, or the wrath of his constituents.
Or have I got all this wrong? And it was as Boris says it was. But, on the balance of probabilities, I'm not inclined to believe him. The boys got form!
And I'll finish with a graphic I came across on Twitter, making a very serious point. For many reasons, Johnson could have fought against any recommendation made by the Committee with a good chance of winning. He bottled it and is the sole author of his downfall. And long may he remain down.
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