Former UK PM Johnson "deliberately misled" Parliament over Covid lockdown breaches: Inquiry report

London [UK], June 15 : UK Former PM Boris Johnson intentionally misled lawmakers over violations of his own Covid-19 lockdown rules, a parliamentary committee found, in a shocking and ground-breaking report that blasts Johnson's behaviour and recommends that he be denied a pass to enter the parliamentary estate, reported CNN.
According to the committee's report, Johnson "committed a serious contempt" of parliament when he claimed that rules were always followed after the so-called "Partygate" affair exposed unauthorised gatherings at Downing Street.
The conclusions essentially amount to a historic admonishment of a former prime minister who, after winning an overwhelming electoral victory less than four years ago, had his political career crumble under the weight of a number of scandals, as per a report published in CNN.
The Privileges Committee wrote in its report, published on Thursday, "The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government. There is no precedent for a Prime Minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House."
The members also wrote, "He misled the House on an issue of the greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly. The members added that Johnson also misled the committee when he presented evidence in his defence.
Days before the report was to be released, Johnson abruptly resigned as an MP on Friday, overturning the committee's recommendation that he be punished long enough to call a by-election in his district.
But in light of his resignation, the study added a further severe recommendation: Johnson is denied a former member's pass to enter parliament, a longstanding convention for ex-MPs.
The probe by the committee, the majority of whom are from Johnson's Conservative Party, has come to a close. Johnson and some of his allies have criticised the committee as a "kangaroo court."
But it may not end the Partygate saga. MPs must now vote to accept the report's conclusions, a potentially humiliating process that will undoubtedly highlight differences between Johnson's parliamentary allies and the current prime minister Rishi Sunak, who has recently tried to distance himself from Johnson, as per CNN.
The main subject of the investigation was Johnson's actions during the Covid-19 pandemic when he served as prime minister and was discovered by police to have broken his own guidelines.
This inquest examined whether Johnson intentionally mislead legislators in the House of Commons when he informed them that he was unaware of the parties, as opposed to a police investigation and a separate parliamentary inquiry into the parties themselves.
Its conclusions were undisputed and unanimous.
The report said, "We think it highly unlikely on the balance of probabilities that Mr Johnson ... could have genuinely believed at the time of his statements to the House that the Rules or Guidance were being complied with."
The report chastises Johnson for his criticisms of the committee's objectivity and finds that his testimony and his resignation from the House of Commons both constituted several instances of contempt of parliament, according to CNN.
Calling Johnson's language "vitriolic" and "completely unacceptable," the committee wrote in its report, "This attack on a committee carrying out its remit from the democratically elected House itself amounts to an attack on our democratic institutions."
If Johnson had continued to serve in the legislature, the committee would have recommended a 90-day suspension from the Commons, which is nine times the length of time that would have required Johnson to run for re-election.
In his personal response to the report, Johnson referred to its release as a "dreadful day for democracy."
He said, "This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the committee or it was good. faith. The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes."
The publishing has, however, further tarnished Johnson's reputation. His whole premiership was marred by scandal, ranging from financial issues to members of his team being accused of sexual misconduct. He was also the first PM to ever receive a fine from the police while in office.
Near the end of his term in office, Johnson's popularity among the British public and his own MPs fell precipitously. After his replacement Liz Truss was forced to quit, he made an attempt to return, but it was unsuccessful as it became clear that a majority of Conservative MPs would oppose him, according to a CNN report.
Johnson has been engaged in a verbal battle with Sunak, his eventual successor and former chancellor (finance minister).
He and two of his partners announced their intention to resign from the House of Representatives over the weekend, necessitating three challenging by-elections for a government that is now wallowing in the polls.
Sunak, whom Johnson criticised in his resignation statement, is not necessarily benefiting from the former prime minister's exit from the House of Commons.
Johnson and his allies continue to hold Sunak primarily accountable for the political demise of his predecessor. Johnson has consistently had sway over Conservative voters, both inside and outside of Parliament.
The prospect of Johnson outside of parliament, writing columns and giving speeches aimed at the voters Sunak needs to win the next election will no doubt cause yet more anxiety in Downing Street, CNN reported.