Britain's House of Commons on Thursday ordered a parliamentary investigation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and whether he knowingly lied to Parliament about breaking the law with parties at Downing Street during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Johnson's government had tried to delay the vote, but when enough members of his Conservative Party appeared set to vote for the investigation, Downing Street dropped its opposition.
The investigation was approved by voice vote, with no objections, after five hours of debate. The Committee of Privileges will begin its inquiry as soon as the police have concluded their investigation of the "partygate" gatherings. Johnson, along with his wife and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, was fined 50 pounds ($66) last week for attending illicit parties, making him the first British prime minister found to have broken the law while in office.
If the committee finds that Johnson misled Parliament, which would historically force Johnson's resignation, it can recommend that he be suspended, ordered to apologize, or expelled from Parliament. Lawmakers would then approve or reject the report and recommended sanctions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Either way, "Boris Johnson will become the first prime minister to be investigated for claims he deliberately misled Parliament," writes BBC political correspondent Helen Catt. And "in a political system that largely relies on trust and honesty, that is a big deal."
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said during the debate that "the simple principle that honesty, integrity and telling the truth matter in our politics" is "a British principle" and "a principle under attack." Scottish National Party parliamentary leader Ian Blackford said the "simple" truth is that Johnson "lied to avoid getting caught, and once he got caught, he lied again."
Johnson, traveling in India, said he has "no concerns" about the investigation.
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
American antisemitismFeature The world’s oldest hatred is on the rise in U.S. Why?
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
