UK former PM Johnson accused of using "distraction tactic"

The Privileges Committee is expected to finally publish its report into whether Boris Johnson lied to parliament over party gate, despite a last-minute attempt by the former prime minister to discredit one of the committee members.

He has been accused of using a "distraction tactic" after calling for senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin to resign over allegations of lockdown rule-breaking, Fox News reports.

In a dramatic twist on June 14 evening, Mr Johnson and his allies said Sir Bernard should "explain his actions" and step down from the inquiry, following claims he attended a drinks reception in December 2020.

Mr Johnson called the allegations "nauseating" - but he was accused of attempting to distract from the report's findings by opposition MPs, while a source close to the committee reportedly dismissed the intervention as "desperate stuff".

According to the Guido Fawkes website, Sir Bernard went to a drinks party held by Commons Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing in December 2020, while London was in Tier 2 measures restricting indoor mixing.

Responding to the claims, Mr Johnson said: "Bernard Jenkin has just voted to expel me from parliament for allegedly trying to conceal from parliament my knowledge of illicit events.

"Now it turns out he may have for the whole time knowing that he himself attended an event - and concealed this from the Privileges Committee and the whole House for the last year.

"To borrow the language of the committee, if this is the case, he 'must have known' he was in breach of the rules.

"He has no choice but to explain himself."

Mr Johnson also wrote to committee chair Harriet Harman demanding that she clarify whether she checked that panel members had not attended such events before the inquiry began.

In a rancorous letter, he said that if the report was true, Sir Bernard was "guilty of flagrant and monstrous hypocrisy" and "he should have recused himself" from the investigation.

"I really find it incredible - and nauseating - that this matter is emerging at this stage of your process."

Sir Bernard has been contacted while a representative for Dame Eleanor declined to comment.

Lord Peter Cruddas, a Tory donor who Mr Johnson elevated to the Lords, called for the police to investigate.