Boris Johnson allies accused of putting ‘improper pressure’ on probe into his conduct

LONDON — Boris Johnson and seven of his close allies put “improper pressure” on the House of Commons privileges committee as it investigated his knowledge of multiple coronavirus rule-breaking parties in government, a cross-party group of MPs ruled Thursday.

In a damning follow-up report to its investigation on whether Johnson misled the House of Commons, the privileges committee singled out Johnson allies Nadine Dorries, Zac Goldsmith, Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Jenkyns, and Priti Patel, accusing them of joining a “co-ordinated campaign to interfere with the work of the Committee.”

It listed a series of tweets and broadcast comments from these Johnson allies which it said marked “disturbing examples of the co-ordinated campaign to interfere with the work of the committee.”

Referencing chairman Harriet Harman, the special report also said that there had been “sustained attempts to undermine and challenge the impartiality of the chair, who had been appointed to the committee by unanimous decision of the House.”

“An attack on the procedures of the House and on the impartial officers and advisers who support those processes is an attack on the legitimacy of Parliament itself,” the report reads.

The committee’s report is the latest in its examination of Johnson, who quit as an MP before it could rule that he did indeed mislead Parliament, and as a result, should face an effective ban from the parliamentary estate.

That Partygate report found Johnson was guilty of “being complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the Committee,” something which added to his vigorous punishment.

Johnson has dismissed the committee as a “kangaroo court,” and taken aim what he called the “political agenda” of Harman.

This developing story is being updated.