![]() Senior Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: 'If Harriet Harman is trying to be a parliamentary Miss Marple by talking privately to witnesses, that is incompatible with being the chairman of the Privileges Committee. The summit was held under the banner: 'How can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe?'.Īll of this comes as Ms Harman has been warned that her probe could start to look like a 'vendetta' after it was claimed that she had talked privately to a whistleblower and other witnesses set to appear before the committee. Mr Johnson's concern that his Brexit legacy could be at risk has only deepened in the wake of revelations that Cabinet Minister Michael Gove was present at a private cross-party summit addressing the EU withdrawal's failings at Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire earlier this month. Brexiteers have been especially alarmed by indications that judges from the European Court of Justice could retain a role in trade disputes. Mr Johnson has also expressed concern to friends about Mr Sunak's 'custodianship' of Brexit – and in particular the negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol, which avoids a hard border with Ireland by creating barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea. Some friends of Mr Sunak express the private hope that Mr Wallace will be offered the chance to become the next head of Nato when the current secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg leaves the role in October to 'get him out of the way'. Mr Wallace is one of Mr Johnson's last remaining allies in the Cabinet, while Mr Hunt subscribes to Mr Sunak's desire to keep a tight grip on the Government purse strings. The dispute between Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt over Mr Wallace's demand for a £10 billion increase in the defence budget is regarded as a proxy war between the two camps. Mr Johnson denies any intention to undermine his successor, despite such unsubtle moves as his 'ambush' during President Zelensky's recent visit to London, when the former PM called for the UK to send jets and tanks to Ukraine to 'finish the job'. A circus-style Privileges Committee is not in anyone's interest.'īut with Labour retaining a commanding lead in the opinion polls, Mr Johnson remains the default option for many Tory MPs looking for salvation as the clock ticks down to next year's General Election. However, according to a senior party source, 'This is simply not true and completely wrongheaded. One source, who believes the investigation is essentially a 'kangaroo court' designed to prove Mr Johnson's guilt, said: 'Rishi would like nothing more than for the committee to send Boris packing.' ![]() Mr Johnson has also expressed concern to friends about Mr Sunak's 'custodianship' of Brexit – and in particular the negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol, which avoids a hard border with Ireland by creating barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea If the MPs suspend him for ten days or more, on the grounds that they believe Mr Johnson misled Parliament in December 2021 when he denied parties had taken place in No 10, that would automatically trigger a recall petition.Īnd if that petition was to be signed by more than ten per cent of the local electorate, it could lead to a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.Īllies of Mr Johnson believe that Mr Sunak, stung by Boris's attention-grabbing interventions, is cheering on Ms Harman in her work – and that his No 10 team are being too 'helpful' to the committee. The lead character in this particular Agatha Christie murder mystery is Harriet Harman, the former Labour Deputy Leader who is heading an MPs' investigation into Mr Johnson's conduct at Downing Street by the Privileges Committee. It is being described by cynical Tory MPs as an attempt by Westminster's 'Miss Marple' to kill off Boris Johnson's political career – and draw a long sigh of relief from Rishi Sunak in the process. ![]()
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