Boris Johnson urges privileges committee to publish ‘nonsense’ report
Boris Johnson has urged the privileges committee to publish its report on whether he lied to MPs over partygate and “let the world judge their nonsense”.
In a new statement on Tuesday evening, the former prime minister hit out at the panel’s “absurdly unfair rules” which he claimed prevented him from criticising its findings.
The group of cross-party MPs is poised to conclude that Mr Johnson deliberately misled parliament with his assurances that COVID rules were followed at all times in Downing Street during the pandemic.
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Mr Johnson said: “The privileges committee should publish their report and let the world judge their nonsense.
“They have no excuse for delay.
“Their absurdly unfair rules do not even allow any criticism of their findings.
“I have made my views clear to the committee in writing – and will do so more widely when they finally publish.”
Earlier, the committee said that it is dealing with “further representations” made by Mr Johnson’s legal team on Monday night as the group met to conclude the inquiry.
No information was given about the submissions, but his last-minute intervention is likely to delay the publication of their findings – which were initially expected to be published on Wednesday.
A committee spokesman said on Tuesday: “A letter enclosing further representations from Mr Johnson was received by the committee at 11.57pm last night.
“The committee is dealing with these and will report promptly.”
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‘No going back for Johnson’
Mr Johnson previously attacked the seven-person committee, which is chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Conservative majority, as a “kangaroo court” when he announced his Commons exit on Friday after receiving a draft of its findings.
It has been suggested that the panel had been discussing a 20-day suspension as punishment for lying, triggering a recall petition and potential by-election.
Mr Johnson cannot be suspended now he has resigned, but he could be refused a parliamentary pass offered to former MPs, a sanction imposed on ex-Commons speaker John Bercow after a bullying report.
The findings are expected to be damaging but despite this, Mr Johnson has insisted “I’ll be back” – a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator.
In the Daily Express, the former prime minister said: “We must fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto. We must smash Labour at the next election.
“Nothing less than absolute victory and total Brexit will do – and as the great Arnold Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be back.”
The message echoed Mr Johnson’s sign-off during his final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions last year, when he told MPs: “Hasta la vista, baby” – the catchphrase of Schwarzenegger’s cyborg character in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
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That reference similarly left the door open for a possible comeback, but the former Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP remained on the backbenches until quitting as a member of parliament on Friday.
Following his shock resignation, Mr Johnson launched into a public spat with Rishi Sunak over his resignation honours list.
Mr Johnson’s camp accused him of having “secretly blocked” the peerages of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and other allies in his resignation list.
The prime minister denied this and claimed his predecessor asked him to “do something I wasn’t prepared to do”, which was “to either overrule the Holac [House of Lords Appointments] committee or make promises to people”.
As Ms Dorries weighed in with her version of events, claiming “sinister forces” were behind her peerages snub, Sir Keir Starmer warned that Tory infighting between the two erstwhile allies is damaging the UK’s reputation internationally and putting off investors.
The Labour leader told business chiefs at London Tech Week: “There’s a deeper price because there’s a reputation hit to the UK.
“I think there’s an economic hit as well, many investors said to me, we’re not investing in the UK right now because we don’t see the conditions of certainty and stability we need in order to invest.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
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