When saying goodbye to an employee, Boris Johnson joked that it was “the most unsocially distanced meeting” of the country. According to witnesses, the staff was “four to five rows” deep in the lobby of 10 Downing Street. Yet Boris Johnson later stated in the House of Commons that “all guidelines have always been followed” in his official residence.
Did former Prime Minister Boris Johnson mislead the British House of Commons during and after the corona crisis? Did he know that Friday afternoon drinks were a permanent fixture for his staff, while he insisted in parliament that everyone followed the rules? That he himself abided by the rules? On Wednesday afternoon, a parliamentary committee of inquiry will hold a much-anticipated hearing with Johnson centering on whether he has lied in the House of Commons. And if so, whether it was “reckless, unintentional or deliberate.”
The conclusions the committee draws from this session could make or break Johnson’s political future. Because although he resigned as prime minister in June last year, after the reality turned out to be different than he had said for the umpteenth time, his supporters still like to see him return as party leader and prime minister. Like a cat with nine political lives.
Violation ‘obvious’
With the help of a group of lawyers, Johnson has thoroughly prepared for the hearing, which should last about four hours and where he is under oath. On Monday he sent his defense to the House of Commons committee, which has yet to become public, but the main points of which have already leaked to the British press. Johnson would, among other things, come up with messages showing that his employees gave him as a communication line just before his appearances in the House of Commons that no corona rules had been violated. He would not have heard of the drinks and violations of the rules until later.
Also read this profile Johnson’s departure as Prime Minister
Johnson would also criticize the committee of inquiry itself. Their claims would be “illegitimate and biased” and, he says, would not hold up in court. He means the preliminary conclusions of the committee, which became public at the beginning of this month. The committee finds that Johnson “may have misled the House of Commons” on several occasions and that their evidence “strongly suggests that it should have been abundantly clear to Johnson” that rules were being violated at meetings in which he himself was present.
The committee cites, among other things, WhatsApp messages from the director of communications, who writes to another official that he is “struggling to find an explanation of how this falls within the rules”. This was about a meeting where Johnson’s wife Carrie and a group of officials surprised the prime minister with cake on his birthday, in June 2020, when social distancing rules were still in place. Johnson also got for that meeting later imposed a fine.
The seven members of the investigative committee also thoroughly prepared for Wednesday’s session and practiced with role plays. They are under great pressure. Johnson confidants question the independence of the chairman, Harriet Harman, who took to social media last year critically out about Johnson’s role in ‘Partygate’ and would therefore be biased. And the four Conservative members of the committee are told by camp Johnson that they should withdraw and not want to participate in this “witch hunt”.
Suspension possible
The committee will eventually – this could take weeks – share its findings with the House of Commons. If she determines that Johnson has indeed misled parliament, she will also advise on an appropriate sanction. Is that a suspension of more than ten days, and the House of Commons adopts that recommendation, then follows automatically a petition on whether there should be a by-election in Johnson’s constituency, Uxbridge and Ruislip in west London. Only 10 percent of the residents of his district need to sign that petition to force midterm elections.
This, while the Conservative Party just last week confirmed that Johnson is running again for Uxbridge and Ruislip in the upcoming election. He could also run for the by-election, but losing it would be a major bummer for him, one from which recovery is hard to imagine. Anyway finds two-thirds of the British say that, if his deception is discovered, Johnson should resign as a member of the House of Commons himself.
For current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, the hearing and all the news surrounding it is a painful one trip down memory lane. Sunak was also fined last year for his presence at Johnson’s birthday, although he would not have known about the surprise beforehand.
Now says Sunak that Conservative MPs are not bound by party discipline in any vote on Johnson’s suspension. It is a matter for the House of Commons, not the government, he said. But he does not take the spotlight away from a predecessor who flouted corona rules. Wednesday’s session will be broadcast live on TV and will probably also contain Johnsonian flair. One consolation for Sunak: most British do not see a return from Johnson and find him more reliable.