I abstained in the vote last night on the Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson. I had a number of passionate emails urging me to vote one way or the other; no-one urged me to abstain. Let me explain why I did.
MPs were asked to vote both on the findings of the report - that Mr Johnson misled Parliament over ‘partygate’ - and on the proposed sentence, i.e. a 90 day suspension (notional, for he has now left Parliament) and the loss of his ex-member’s pass.
I could not agree with the findings of the report, chiefly because the committee had plainly made their minds up on his guilt before they started their enquiries; the report betrays a blatant preference for evidence that suits its conclusions. And I think the sentence (increased at the last moment because the Committee was cross that Mr Johnson had criticised it) was excessive.
Mr Johnson plainly did misinform Parliament over whether rules were broken in 10 Downing Street. The question, however, is whether he knowingly and intentionally did so; and as I have said all along, that is a high bar to clear. It implies we can determine a member’s private knowledge and intentions; that when Mr Johnson told Parliament he had been assured that the gatherings he attended were within the rules, he was deliberately lying. I am concerned that the report, and the vote last night, sets a dangerous precedent for future ministers, opening them to future inquisitors peering into their souls and pronouncing on their thoughts.
So I could not vote for the motion. I didn’t vote against, either, because the motion could have no effect: Boris is out of Parliament. A vote is by its nature divisive, and what the Party and the country need now is unity, and a resolute commitment to deliver on the priorities (the economy, the NHS, the boats) that Rishi Sunak is rightly focused on.
I will always honour the former PM for his heroic delivery of Brexit, and our general election victory, in 2019. It is plain that many of the people wishing his downfall also wish he had never won those victories; I lament the jubilation of the Establishment this week. And yet it is now time to close the - short, glorious and inglorious - chapter in our history named Boris Johnson.
