Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson should be banned from parliament over the partygate scandal, as he urged the prime minister not to “hide away” from a debate on the issue later today.
The Labour leader said it’s “important to know” where Rishi Sunak stands after the Commons’ Privileges Committee concluded Mr Johnson lied to MPs about the boozy events held in Downing Street during the COVID lockdown.
Boris Johnson vote – latest: Sunak refuses to say if he’ll attend Johnson debate
Asked if the former prime minister – who quit as an MP in light of the findings – should be banned from parliament, Sir Keir told Sky News: “The privileges committee is absolutely clear in its findings, they should be supported.
“I will support the committee, and I want the prime minister to support the committee, because it’s very important we know where the prime minister stands on this.”
In a damning verdict issued last week, the cross-party panel said Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension for misleading the House over partygate and being complicit in a campaign of intimidation against them – if he were still an MP.
Mr Johnson dramatically quit as an MP earlier this month after receiving the committee’s draft findings.
MPs will debate the report’s recommendations later today, which also include banning Mr Johnson from receiving a former member’s pass granting access to parliament which is usually available to ex-politicians.
It is not clear whether there ultimately will be a vote on the conclusions of the report, which could go through on the nod unless there are objections from Mr Johnson’s supporters.
Speaking at a conference in Dublin, former prime minister Liz Truss said the report’s judgement was “overly harsh”, but many other Tories support it – with senior MP Tobias Ellwood vowing to change his plans so he can vote against Mr Johnson.
In a challenge to Mr Sunak, Sir Keir said: “Is he going to come into parliament and vote today and show leadership, or is he going to sit on his hands and hide away?
“I think that is now becoming the crucial issue that will define how things go today in parliament on this.”
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Earlier this morning, Mr Sunak refused to say if he will attend the debate amid speculation he is planning to skip it.
He would not give his view on the proceedings against his predecessor, saying the vote is “a matter for the House rather than for government”.
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The debate comes amid reignited anger over the Downing Street parties scandal following a newly published video showing Conservative Party workers at a Christmas bash during lockdown in 2020.
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The footage, which is being “considered” by Scotland Yard, has renewed accusations from opposition parties that the prime minister is “weak” for not intervening over Mr Johnson’s resignation honours.
Sir Keir said it was “hard to stomach” that two of the people who attended the gathering – former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallet – were rewarded in Mr Johnson’s list.
He said he is unaware of any precedent to remove their new titles, and Mr Sunak should have waited until the outcome of the privileges investigation before approving the nominations from the former prime minister.
“The idea now that two of the people dancing and partying in that video, are going to get honours because the prime minister was too weak to do anything about it, I think is yet another thing that’s very, very hard for people to stomach,” Sir Keir said.
The prime minister has argued he was following precedent in waving through Mr Johnson’s honours.
But speaking to Times Radio, the Labour leader said if he wins the next election he would block some of Mr Sunak’s honours nominees if he didn’t think they were right, and that when he leaves Downing Street, he will not put forward his own resignation honours list.
“Tony Blair didn’t have a resignation list. It is very hard to justify,” he said.
