Seven MPs and three peers have been named in the Privileges Committee’s report, entitled: “Co-ordinated
campaign of interference
in the work of the
Privileges Committee”.
Here is who is named and what they said – but the committee says this is not an exhaustive list, simply “the most disturbing examples”:
Nadine Dorries MP – former culture secretary
Ms Dorries is named four times in the report for the following reasons:
- She tweeted on 15 June: “We also need to keep a close eye on
the careers of the Conservative MPs who
sat on that committee. Do they suddenly
find themselves on chicken runs into safe
seats? Gongs? Were promises made? We
need to know if they were. Justice has
to be seen to be done at all levels of this
process”; - She said on TalkTV on 23 March that she didn’t think there was “ever a world” in which the committee would find Boris Johnson innocent, and they were always going to find him guilty. She accused them of having “changed the rules”;
- She tweeted on 3 March that the probe amounted to “a gross miscarriage of justice”;
- On 1 September, she was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying the inquiry was “biased” and a “Kafkaesque witch hunt”.
Lord Zac Goldsmith – current government minister
Lord Goldsmith is named once for a tweet.
- On 9 June, he retweeted a post calling the inquiry
a witch hunt and kangaroo court, and said: “Exactly this. There was only ever going
to be one outcome and the evidence was
totally irrelevant to it.”
Mark Jenkinson MP
Mr Jenkinson was also singled out for a tweet critical of the inquiry.
- On 9 June, he tweeted: “When the witch hunt has been
forgotten, future generations will look
back in astonishment.”
Sir Michael Fabricant MP
The ardent ally of ex-PM Boris Johnson was criticised for a tweet.
- On 9 June, he tweeted: “Serious questions will need to be
asked about the manner in which the
investigation was conducted. These were
no jurists as was apparent by the tone of
the examination. The question of calibre,
malice and prejudice will need to be
answered now or by historians.”
Brendan Clarke-Smith MP – former government minister
Another MP singled out for a comment on Twitter labelling the probe a witch hunt.
- On 9 June, he wrote: “Tonight we saw the end result of a
parliamentary witch-hunt which would
put a banana republic to shame. It is the
people of this country who elect and
decide on their MPs. It’s called democracy
and we used to value it here. Sadly this
no longer appears to be the case.”
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg MP – former government minister
The freshly knighted MP and long-time Johnson ally has been named for comments made on BBC Radio 4 and on GB News.
- On 22 March, he was asked on BBC Radio 4 whether he shared the view that the process was a
kangaroo court, he said: “I think it makes
kangaroo courts look respectable.” - On 20 March, he said on GB News: “The privileges committee is not even
a proper legal setup. It has a gossamer
of constitutional propriety thrown over
it, but it is in fact a political committee
against Boris Johnson”.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns MP – former government minister
Dame Andrea was also singled out for labelling the committee a kangaroo court.
She tweeted on 21 March: “I hope to see [Boris Johnson] fully exonerated and
to put an end to this kangaroo court.”
Dame Priti Patel MP – former Home Secretary
The former cabinet minister has also been singled out for comments made on GB News.
- She said on 16 March: “How can a handful of members of parliament in a committee, you know,
really be that objective in light of some
of the individual comments that have
been made. I don’t want to name people,
but you know, it is a fact, the lack of
transparency—the lack of accountability…
I think there is a culture of collusion quite frankly involved here.”
Lord Cruddas and Lord Greenhalgh – Conservative Democratic Organisation
Although not singled out in the way the MPs and the peer listed above were, the Conservative Democratic Organisation – headed by Lord Cruddas and Lord Greenhalgh – was also named for an email campaign.
The report says: “Two members of the House of Lords, whose peerages
were conferred on the recommendation of Mr Johnson, were among over 600 people who
emailed committee members using the template email devised by Conservative Post.”
It calls the campaign “an example of selective pressure brought to bear on Conservative members of the committee”.
