Newsman: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over what he knew about alcohol-fueled parties and gatherings at his Downing Street office and residence in central London when COVID infections were skyrocketing and the whole country was under a strict coronavirus lockdown.
That’s the conclusion of a long-awaited 30,000-word report published by seven lawmakers from the House of Commons’ so-called privileges committee, which investigates alleged parliamentary wrongdoing.
The scathing report said Johnson’s “conduct was deliberate, that he committed “a serious contempt of the House” and did so on an issue of “greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly.”
The report also found that Johnson was “complicit” in a “campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee” and this his behavior effectively amounted to an “attack on our democratic institutions” − damning accusations that will be difficult to shake off even for a seasoned and gifted political maverick . The inquiry into Johnson’s behavior is highly critical but has no legal consequences. If he were still a lawmaker he could have faced a 90-day suspension.
In addition to a 90-day suspension – which is moot since he’s no longer in Parliament – the report also recommends the former prime minister be denied a pass giving him access to the Westminster estate. That’s a sprawling complex of government buildings which includes the Parliament. Such a pass is normally granted to former lawmakers.
But Johnson resigned ahead of the report.When Johnson resigned as a member of Parliament last week, preempting the report’s findings, he dismissed the committee investigating him as a “kangaroo court.” In language echoing that of his friend, Donald Trump, he also called it a “witch hunt.”
The report said these criticisms amounted to “an attack on our democratic institutions.”
Johnson nevertheless continued that criticism Thursday, calling the report “a lie and a charade.”
He called it the “final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination.”
