MPs on the Commons privileges committee are considering ways to sanction supporters of Boris Johnson who called into question the panel’s impartiality over its inquiry into the former prime minister’s conduct.
Members of the committee believe that the remarks of some MPs who have criticised the panel amount to contempt of Parliament.
If you complain of the inequity of shooting Comrade Borodin then you must be shot!
Interesting, Tim. I’ve always believed that the Nazis won. But you’re arguing that the Commies have won.
Maybe there’s really not that much difference.
After the committee made their ruling did they all have a nice piece of PIE or is that just for the chair?
John:
It’s amazing, isn’t it, how association with cake is so much worse than association with PIE…
From The guardian:
‘Chris Bryant, the Labour chair of the Commons privileges committee, who withdrew from the inquiry into Johnson and Partygate, says the ex-PM may now face further sanctions over the manner of his announcement on Friday. Also writing in the Observer, he says: “The committee may additionally conclude that his attacks on the committee were in themselves a contempt of parliament.” Bryant added that other sanctions should be considered: “The very least the house could do is refuse Johnson privileged access to parliament, with an ex-MP pass, for life.”’
What other sanctions are there, Bryant? What is the most that you could do, given that he’s resigned his seat?
They’re behaving like children. At this rate he won’t get an invite to Bryant’s birthday party.
It’s bloody clown world on steroids. A duly elected PM is being castigated by a committee headed by Mrs Pie and Captain Underpants while his own party looks on and smirks.
Mrs Pie? Could that be a reference to Horrid Harbinger? Maybe somebody should explain to The Young about her claim to moral superiority.
Contempt of Parliament? Half the country could be charged with that.
@Sam Vara – “What other sanctions are there, Bryant? What is the most that you could do, given that he’s resigned his seat?”
Absolutely anything, up to a Bill of Attainder. Parliament is supreme and can even override any human rights rules if it wants to (and surely Boris and friends would not want to rely on the very human rights that they keep (falsely) criticising as limiting soverignty).
Charles:
You might be confusing the powers of the Privileges committee with Parliament as a whole. Bryant and the rest of the committee only have the power to report and to make recommendations. Of these, expulsion is the most serious, and they were never going to recommend that, nor would Parliament accept it. Nor would Parliament independently initiate a Bill of Attainder.
The Privileges Committee, which has a Conservative majority, is an investigative body. All it can do with its conclusions is make recommendations to the Commons.
BoJo, if traduced by the Committee, had only to present his case to the the House of Commons as a whole – a House with a substantial Conservative majority for which he takes credit.
This is not how purges work. Boris spat his dummy because, it’s reasonable to suppose, the Committee’s report is true.
After a record election win his record was completely pathetic in a style copied from the Komsomol or perhaps the OKW. No fate is too bad for him and his I would be inclined to strew his seat in Parliament with salt. A disgusting, terrible, awful person and a disgrace for a leader. FO spells go Boris.
@Sam Vara – “You might be confusing the powers of the Privileges committee with Parliament as a whole.”
No. You quoted Chris Bryant as saying “The very least the house could do…”. The house is Parliament, not the committee.
@Erskine May – “a House with a substantial Conservative majority for which he takes credit”
In case you haven’t noticed, the Conservative party is fairly unpopular right now, so many of the Conservative MPs might be delighted to take advantage of a chance to blame Boris for the likelihood that they’ll lose their seat at the next election, and may even feel that it would boost their chances of keeping their seat if they were seen to force some consequences on Boris.
Comments are closed.