Rishi Sunak facing potentially acrimonious vote on Boris Johnson partygate report
Rishi Sunak is facing a potentially acrimonious vote on the Boris Johnson partygate report at the start of next week.
A debate and vote on the report, published by the House of Commons Privileges Committee on Thursday, will take place on Monday – Mr Johnson‘s 59th birthday.
But it will not be a gathering Mr Johnson will get to take part in, as he has now officially left the House of Commons.
Partygate report: The key findings of privileges committee that sealed Boris Johnson’s fate
There may, however, be a chance for some of his loyal supporters to voice their support for the former prime minister.
Those who stuck with Mr Johnson to the end – many of whom were subsequently honoured – are sanguine about what Monday’s result will be.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News: “Inevitably, Boris will lose the vote because you have the whole of the Opposition against him… you also have the Boris haters in the Conservative Party.”
It could be that Sir Jacob, alongside Nadine Dorries, might decide to voice their support for their former leader in the House.
MPs will also vote on whether Mr Johnson should be stripped of his access to the Palace of Westminster – although allies of the former prime minister suggest he could regain access if he were to successfully stand in another constituency.
While the motion to be voted on is simply worded – “that this House approves the Fifth Report from the Committee of Privileges” – the answer over which way to vote will be complicated for many Tory MPs.
Mr Johnson is popular with many in the Conservative Party membership, so opposing him will be a headache with associations.
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Boris Johnson ‘is not defeated’
The notably unennobled Ms Dorries tweeted: “Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow. It’s serious.”
Meanwhile, the former prime minister’s lack of popularity with the rest of the electorate makes supporting him equally unappealing.
YouGov polling of 3,031 adults in the UK found that only 15% of those asked thought the recommended 90-day suspension for Mr Johnson was too harsh.
So it may come as a relief to know that Downing Street has put them on a one-line whip – meaning turning up in Westminster is not compulsory.
And the vote itself is likely to be free, so no one on the government benches will be told how they have to cast their ballots.
Beth Rigby analysis:
Johnson verdict a blow to Sunak’s hopes of maintaining peace in the Tory civil war
Many eyes will be looking at the way Mr Sunak – and other government ministers – vote on a report which excoriated their former leader and a government of which many were part.
Downing Street refused to be drawn on how the prime minister will vote when asked on Thursday evening.
“He intends to take the time to fully consider the report,” Mr Sunak’s spokesman said.
Conservative Penny Mordaunt, who as leader of the House of Commons announced the vote, said: “My advice to all MPs, having had the committee carry out the work we asked them to do, is to read the report, is to make their own judgments about it and take the task that is our privilege to do seriously and soberly, and members should use their own judgment on that.”
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She added: “These are difficult matters for the House. We have to look at the evidence, we have to look at the report, but we’re talking about people who are friends and colleagues. It will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us, the task that we face on Monday.
“But all of us must do what we think is right, and others must leave us alone to do so.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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