Johnson allies could face suspension for partygate committee comments

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson's staunchest allies, including Nadine Dorries and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, could face suspension from parliament for their roles in a campaign against the committee investigating the ex-premier's partygate lies.
The Privileges Committee highlighted comments by senior lawmakers including Dorries, Sir Jacob and Dame Priti Patel along with peers including Lord Goldsmith – a serving minister – claiming it was part of a co-ordinated attempt to undermine the panel's work.
The committee said MPs should consider whether their actions could be considered a contempt of Parliament and what further action to take.
The Privileges Committee ultimately triggered Johnson's resignation from Parliament in protest at its recommendation that he should face a lengthy suspension for misleading the Commons with his denials of lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.
His supporters frequently attacked the Labour-led but Tory-majority committee as a "witch hunt" and "kangaroo court" – with Johnson found to be complicit in the campaign against the panel investigating him.
Other MPs quoted in the report include Mark Jenkinson, Sir Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith and Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
The report said the MPs criticised "did not choose to engage through any proper process such as the submission of letters or evidence to our inquiry, but by attacking the members of the committee, in order to influence their judgment".
Their aim was to "influence the outcome of the inquiry", "impede the work of the committee by inducing members to resign from it", "discredit the committee's conclusions if those conclusions were not what they wanted" and "discredit the Committee as a whole", it said.
The report added: "The committee is particularly concerned about attacks mounted by experienced colleagues, including a serving minister of the Crown, a former leader of the House and a former secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport."
In a reference to Dorries' work on TalkTV and Sir Jacob's GB News role, the committee said "two of the Members mounting the most vociferous attacks on the committee did so from the platform of their own hosted TV shows".