Theresa May makes scathing intervention in Commons Partygate showdown

Former prime minister Theresa May said Boris Johnson had been “found wanting” and urged MPs to back the privileges committee’s findings that he lied to parliament over Partygate, in a scathing intervention as the Commons debates the report.

A vote could follow on whether to formally back the cross-party committee’s findings – and its call to block the now-former MP’s parliamentary pass – promping accusations his successor Rishi Sunak was “running scared”, as it emerged he was not scheduled to attend.

It came as the Metropolitan Police announced detectives would investigate a gathering at Conservative Party headquarters (CCHQ) where people were invited to “jingle and mingle” during Covid restrictions.

Scotland Yard said it had launched a new probe into alleged breaches of Covid laws at Downing Street, Chequers, inside parliament and at CCHQ, after footage published by The Mirror showed staff dancing and joking about Covid restrictions.

Elsewhere, Labour leader Keir Starmer ruled out putting forward a resignation honours list if he becomes prime minister, saying the tradition was “very hard to justify”, adding: “Tony Blair didn’t do it and I wouldn’t do it.”

Key Points

• Theresa May urges MPs to back committee in scathing intervention

• Commons debate over damning Boris Johnson report gets under way

• Sunak set to ‘skip’ potential vote over Partygate report

• CCHQ ‘Jingle and Mingle’ party investigated by police

• I won’t submit resignation honours list if PM – Starmer

• Tories face outrage over Covid lockdown party video

MPs to vote on committee report

21:29 , Andy Gregory

Several shouts of “no, no, no” could be heard as speaker Lindsay Hoyle ordered the lobbies to be cleared for a vote on the privileges committee report.

We will have the results shortly.

Boris Johnson ‘hits out at committee’ in speech to forum

21:25 , Andy Gregory

Boris Johnson is absent from tonight’s proceedings and is instead reportedly giving a speech to the International Democratic Union.

According to a source cited by the Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti, the ex-PM has called the privileges committee “biased and wilfully ignorant”, and claimed there’s “always another innings”.

Mr Johnson’s supporter Brendan Clarke-Smith, who has called the committee’s recommendations “appalling” said he “fully intended to vote against” but would not give “others the satisfaction of taking part in their silly games”, appeared to be in attendace.

Jess Phillips relieved the ‘system is bigger than demagogue’ Johnson

21:11 , Andy Gregory

Labour MP Jess Phillips has expressed relief that “the system is bigger than this demagogue”, as she praised the privileges committee for its report.

“The idea that Boris Johnson didn’t understand the regulations … I mean, it is a cracking defence on his part I have to say, because it basically means he is too stupid. He is either lying or he is thick,” Ms Phillips told MPs.

The Birmingham Yardley MP added that the committee report reassured her there was “a lock on the system”, also describing it as “a valve to release the pressure”.

She told MPs: “What I have seen for the past five years of people lying and deceiving, specifically Boris Johnson lying and deceiving, I felt like oh gosh, it is okay, the system is bigger than this demagogue, it is bigger than this man who thinks he is bigger than the world.”

Tory MP says he is ‘so over Boris’

21:08 , Andy Gregory

A Conservative MP has claimed he is “so over Boris”, as he said telling the truth was a “keystone” of parliament.

Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely told MPs he would vote for the report, but said: “I am so over Boris, and I am pretty over lockdown as well. I think sometimes, and really the point I want to make tonight is that we are in danger of making Westminster look small and petty.”

While he described politicians telling the truth as “a keystone to this place”, he added: “The scandal of lockdown, or Covid and how we dealt with it, is not only whether there were ‘wine Fridays’ and cake in Downing Street, and people in protest carrying about pints of milk, but actually whether lockdown worked, the cost of lockdown in terms of lives, in terms of learning, in terms of sanity, in terms of money, and in terms of truth.”

Nick Fletcher: ‘We must remember Boris is human too’

20:04 , Katy Clifton

Conservative Nick Fletcher, who said he will vote against the motion, urged MPs to remember Boris Johnson is “human” and that during Covid, he “nearly died”.

The MP for Don Valley told the Commons: “We must also remember he is a human, too. In addition to running the country, he dealt with the highs and lows that this life brings. During Covid, he nearly died. He got married. He lost his mum and had a child.”

He insisted committees like the Privileges one are “set up to fail”, adding: “Let me use a football analogy: if Man City’s star player had to sit in front of seven of his peers for the hearing, how fair would it be if three of the committee were Man United players? Not very. I think if we are going to use MPs as committee members, which I think we should, then they must be of the same party.”

Meanwhile, Conservative MP for Guildford Angela Richardson said: “I deplore the attacks on members of the Privileges Committee. Whether they come from external commentators or within this House. The work of the committee is thankless, there is no need to make it potentially dangerous, too. The additional security that was needed is deeply shameful.”

She told MPs that Harriet Harman, the Labour chairwoman of the Privileges Committee, is “an exceptional parliamentarian”, adding: “I also deplore the attacks on the member for Warrington South (Andy Carter), who is a voluntary magistrate, as well as serving his constituents in this place. Shame, shame, shame on those who are working to undermine him and his future prospects.”

Watch: Ian McKellen spotted in House of Commons

19:48 , Katy Clifton

Rees-Mogg says removing Boris’ pass ‘ridiculous’

19:44 , Katy Clifton

Conservative former cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was legitimate to challenge the findings of the Privileges Committee, and dismissed removing Boris Johnson’s parliamentary pass as “ridiculous”.

Addressing the proposed 90-day suspension from the Commons, said: “A vindictive sanction, it seems to me, which they can’t implement because Mr Johnson has left Parliament. So they go from the vindictive to the ridiculous with not allowing him a parliamentary pass.”

Addressing a comment from Labour MP Harriet Harman, who chaired the committee when it was producing the report, Sir Jacob said: “Suddenly we discover in this transparent approach that there was a secret agreement that her involvement was all right. Well, I was in the Government at the time, I never heard that this had happened.”

He also told MPs: “It is absolutely legitimate to criticise the conduct of a committee, to criticise the members of a committee. That is politics.

“Our politics is adversarial… it is open to us within this chamber to accuse people within the bounds of good order of saying things that we disagree with. Outside this chamber freedom of speech is paramount.”

He added: “We must defend the right of freedom of speech. And, frankly, if politicians cannot cope with criticism you wonder what on earth they are doing with a political career.”

Andrea Leadsom: We have to back a properly constituted committee

19:43 , Katy Clifton

MPs should “back a properly constituted committee” by voting in favour of the Privileges Committee report on Boris Johnson, Tory former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has said.

She told Channel 4 News: “In my view, as a former leader of the Commons but also a real believer in the importance of parliamentary sovereignty, we have to back a properly constituted committee.

“And it’s not right to simply say, ‘well, I don’t like its findings so I’m just going to bring into question its legitimacy’.”

She also said she hoped enough MPs would support it so it would not need to come to a vote.

“I’m hopeful that this will go through on the nod rather than having a division.

“I want all members to accept the validity of that committee’s findings.”

Johnson’s former aide speaks out in defence of ex-boss

19:19 , Andy Gregory

Lia Nici, former parliamentary private secretary for Boris Johnson, defended her old boss, saying the “prime minister is not the caretaker of the building, it is not their job to go round and look in rooms and decide who may be working and who may not be working”.

The Tory MP for Great Grimsby said: “I have to speak in the House today because I cannot see where the evidence is where Boris Johnson misled Parliament knowingly, intentionally or recklessly … The reality is – is that Boris Johnson did not knowingly or intentionally mislead this House.”

She went on: “No 10 is full of police officers, full of security people. Why did nobody report this to the prime minister so that he was aware of it.”

Intervening, Labour’s Jess Phillips asked: “Do think that there’s any chance that Boris Johnson could also have lied to her?”

Ms Nici claimed: “Actually, no I don’t believe he did … sadly I believe that unelected officials, some of them, because many, many are very, very good and very professional, but some of them made a choice not to inform the then prime minister because they wanted to cover their own backs, I’m very, very sad to say.”

She said: “Sadly this is all becoming part of a kind of political opportunism for those people who don’t like Boris Johnson’s approach.”

Johnson’s exit was ‘narcissistic howl of a man child’, says Labour MP

18:47 , Andy Gregory

Labour’s Dame Angela Eagle branded Boris Johnson’s departure the “narcissistic howl of a man child who won’t see that he only has himself to blame”.

Of the report, she said: “It’s a damning verdict and one which I believe the whole House must not only note but vote to accept.”

She added: “Boris Johnson and his acolytes have engaged in a systematic attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the committee and its work for their own purposes.”

She went on: “It is beneath contempt for serving members of this House and the ex-Prime Minister to accuse the committee of being a kangaroo court or of being biased against him. In my view all those who’ve made such baseless accusations should themselves be referred to the Privileges Committee for contempt of this House.”

She added: “He has left in disgrace, he has run from accountability for his lies and untruths. There has been no self-reflection, no apology, no acceptance of a shred of responsibility, just the narcissistic howl of a man child who won’t see that he only has himself to blame.

“So egregious and so damaging for public trust in our democracy, Boris Johnson and his cheerleaders’ actions, it’s now imperative that this report is accepted.”

Senior Tory Tobias Ellwood backs Partygate report

18:42 , Andy Gregory

Conservative former minister Tobias Ellwood said he would “vote in support” of the Privileges Committee report.

He told MPs: “Even though Boris Johnson has absented himself from this House, almost to some degree making this report somewhat academic, the nation wants to see its conclusion, the nation who puts us here wants to make sure that this process reaches its conclusion.”

Theresa May, speaking after Mr Ellwood’s intervention, said: “If people see us making rules for them and acting as if they are not for us that trust that I spoke about between the public and Parliament is undermined.

“If they see members of this House trying to save the careers of friends who have been clearly found by due process to have been guilty of wrongdoing, as happened in the case of Owen Paterson, their respect for us is eroded. And without that trust and respect their faith in our very parliamentary democracy is damaged.”

Watch: Labour MP asks ‘what would Covid victims say?’

18:33 , Andy Gregory

Tory committee members subjected to ‘threats, intimidation and harassment’, says Harman

18:33 , Andy Gregory

Tory members of the Privileges Committee have had to withstand a campaign of “threats, intimidation and harassment” designed to challenge the legitimacy of the inquiry, MPs have heard.

Labour veteran and Privileges Committee chair Harriet Harman thanked “every member of the Privileges Committee” for their “outstanding dedication and commitment”, adding: “But particularly the Conservative members of the committee. They have also had to be extraordinarily resilient.

“They have had to withstand a campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment designed to challenge the legitimacy of the inquiry, to drive them off the Committee and thereby frustrate the intention of the House that this inquiry should be carried out. Yet through all this, they have not given into the intimidation.”

She added: “Attacks by honourable members on other honourable members designed to pre-empt the committee’s findings, frustrate the will of the House, erode public confidence and thereby undermine our democracy. They may themselves be contempt of the House because they are attempting to impede the functioning of the House.

“We will be doing a further report to the House on this shortly inviting consideration of what could be done to prevent this happening in the future.”

Harriet Harman in ‘mic drop’ moment after Jacob Rees-Mogg criticism

18:01 , Andy Gregory

Privileges committee chair Harriet Harman said the government gave her assurances that she would not be seen as biased in her judgment of Boris Johnson.

Conservative former minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg referenced a precedent regarding the perception of bias in a House of Lords committee as he highlighted Ms Harman’s tweets criticising the ex-PM, asking: “In relation to her famous tweets, how does she think she met the Hoffmann test?”

Ms Harman responded “I am happy to answer that point that is made. I was appointed by this House in the expectation that I would chair the committee with no one speaking against it.

“After the tweets were brought to light, they were highlighted, because I am concerned about the perception of fairness of the committee and I agree that perception matters, I made it my business to find out whether or not it would mean that the government would not have confidence in me if I continued to chair the committee.

“I actually said I am more than happy to step aside because perception matters and I don’t want to do this if the government doesn’t have confidence in me, because I need the whole House to have confidence in the work that the committee has mandated.

“I was assured that I should continue the work that the House had mandated with the appointment that the House had put me into and so I did just that.”

One MP could then be heard to shout in support of Ms Harman: “I think that’s a mic drop, Jacob Rees-Mogg.”

Actor Sir Ian McKellen watches on as MPs debate Boris Johnson findings

17:57 , Andy Gregory

Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen has been spotted in the Commons viewing gallery as MPs debate the findings against Boris Johnson.

PMs ‘must tell the truth’, says Harriet Harman

17:54 , Adam Forrest

Senior Labour MP Harriet Harman, the chair of the privileges committee, said prime ministers “must tell the truth” to parliament as she condemned Boris Johnson and defended the recommended punishment.

Ms Harman said the government gave her assurances that she would not be seen as biased in her judgment of Mr Johnson. “I was assured that I should continue the work that the House had mandated with the appointment that the House had put me into and so I did just that.”

The Labour chair said Tory members of the committe have had to withstand a campaign of “threats, intimidation and harassment” designed to challenge the legitimacy of the inquiry.

Warning Mr Johnson’s allies that could be found in contempt for their “witch hunt” attacks, Ms Harman said such attacks “designed to pre-empt the committee’s findings, frustrate the will of the House, erode public confidence and thereby undermine our democracy – they may themselves be contempt of the House”.

She added: “We will be doing a further report to the House on this shortly inviting consideration of what could be done to prevent this happening in the future.”

Ms Harman said: “There is no impunity for wrongdoing. Even if you’re the prime minister, especially if you’re the prime minister, you must tell the truth to parliament.”

Father of the House to support committee’s findings

17:54 , Andy Gregory

Father of the House and Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley said he would “support the committee” after it found Boris Johnson lied to parliament over Partygate.

“The question I think facing each of us is no matter how many good things we have done, and the former prime minister did many good things, is what we do when we’ve done something wrong,” Sir Peter told MPs.

SNP attacks Tories who ‘indulged’ Boris Johnson

17:53 , Andy Gregory

SNP Commons leader Deidre Brock told MPs: “We need to turn our gaze to all the members opposite who ignored his track record, indulged his behaviour, and the obvious failings of the man simply because (they) thought he could win them their seat.”

She added: “At the very least they should show some remorse for that cynicism, accept the recommendations of this report and vote for those recommendations.

“And if they don’t, I hope their cowardly refusal will dog them for the rest of their political lives. If ever there was a moment for them to stand up and be counted, it is now.”

She said it would be a “spineless dereliction of the responsibilities of his office if (Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) doesn’t show active support for the committee’s recommendations”.

She said legal fees spent on Boris Johnson’s defence should be “recovered”, “rescind the honours we bestowed in disgrace”, and called for Parliament to “abandon the damaging traditions that protect those who lie in Parliament”.

Boris has been ‘found wanting’, says Theresa May

17:38 , Andy Gregory

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:

Former Tory prime minister Theresa May has said Boris Johnson has been “found wanting” by lying to parliament – urging all Tory MPs to back the privileges committee’s report.

“I also say to members of my own party that it is doubly important for us to show that we are prepared to act when one of our own – however senior – is found wanting,” said Ms May in scathing remarks.

She added: “I will vote in favour of the report of the privileges committee. I urge all members of this House to do so, to uphold standards in public life, to show we all recognise the responsibility we have to the people we serve, and to help restore faith in our parliamentary democracy.”

Theresa May backs findings against Boris Johnson

17:25 , Andy Gregory

Conservative former prime minister Theresa May has told the Commons she accepts the privileges committee’s findings against her successor Boris Johnson, as she condemned “slurs on [the] integrity” of its members.

“It is a rigorous report and I accept its findings,” Ms May told MPs.

“It is not easy to sit in judgment on friends and colleagues,” she said, adding “but friendship, working together, should not get in the way of doing what is right.

“I commend the members of the Privileges Committee for their painstaking work, and for their dignity in the face of slurs on their integrity. To all the members of the committee, this House should … say thank you for your service.”

She added: “This committee report matters. This debate matters. And this vote matters. They matter because they strike at the heart of the bond of trust and respect between the public and parliament that underpin the workings of this place and of our democracy.”

Sunak ‘too weak’ to stand up to Johnson and his ‘sycophants’, claims Labour

17:23 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak is “too weak” to stand up to Boris Johnson and his “sycophants”, Labour has said.

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire told MPs: “When stories or scandals like this one cut through with the public, it offers a Prime Minister the chance to press the reset button, to show leadership, get to grips with an issue, tackle it head on, but this prime minister is simply too weak to do so.

“Despite promising integrity, professionalism, accountability at every level, he has shown he is too weak to stand up to Boris Johnson and his sycophants, which is profoundly dangerous because if we can’t have a prime minister that stand up for standards, what have we got?”

Ms Debbonaire said she welcomes the motion in the name of the Commons Leader, adding: “But I ask: who on her side actually supports it? The government frontbench from the media over the weekend otherwise seems to be in chaos. Just yesterday, the Levelling Up Secretary [Michael Gove] said he disagrees with the committee’s conclusions, does the leader know how many of her other Cabinet colleagues aren’t supporting her motion?”

Making an intervention, Penny Mordaunt said: “The prime minister is on record defending the work of the privileges committee. He has called out those that have overstepped the mark from genuine, legitimate questions around process and so forth to attacking and intimidating members of the committee and bringing the house into disrepute.”

MPs must consider bereaved families during debate, urges Labour MP

17:00 , Andy Gregory

MPs must consider the families of those who lost loved ones during the Covid pandemic as they debate the privileges committee report into the conduct of Boris Johnson, Labour’s shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire has said.

“The backdrop to this report is the thousands of red hearts on the Covid memorial wall just over the river,” Ms Debbonaire told the Commons. “Every one represents a life lost to this awful disease. For every single heart there is human being loved, mourned, and missed.

“For each there is a story around them of awful loss, of grief compounded by goodbyes done over smartphones, lives ended alone, people robbed of precious time together, and relatives unable to comfort each other at funerals.”

Appealing to Mr Johnson’s supporters, she added: “I urge members who continue to defend Mr Johnson and attack the committee and their findings: think of these families and what this means to them, they are our constituents. By defending Mr Johnson’s consistent insistence that thank yous, birthdays, and morale boosting parties were essential work events, this hurts them.”

Johnson ‘far cry from PM country can be proud of’, says Labour frontbencher

16:55 , Andy Gregory

Boris Johnson is “a far cry from a prime minister this country can be proud of”, Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire said, after quoting Winston Churchill in the Commons.

The shadow Commons leader said: “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. The words of Winston Churchill. First said in this House decades ago and they hang over us today. Boris Johnson in particular and his supporters should heed the words of his hero.

“Mr Johnson undermined and attacked our democratic institutions, a far cry from a prime minister this country can be proud of. He lied to this House, to the people of this country, and when exposed, lashed out at the system designed to hold him and all of us here to account.”

Debate on Boris Johnson report is important for public trust, says Penny Mordaunt

16:53 , Andy Gregory

The debate on the Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson’s conduct is important for public trust and the rights of MPs “not to be misled”, Penny Mordaunt said.

The Commons Leader said: “The real world consequences of a vote today may seem to come down to whether the former member for Uxbridge has a pass to the estate. Our constituents may not appreciate why we are focused on contempt towards the House, as opposed to contempts they may feel have been made against them.”

She added: “But we would be wrong to think there is no meaningful consequences to our actions this afternoon. The work of the privileges committee in producing this report before us today does not just examine the conduct of a former colleague.

“Their work has also sought to defend our rights and privileges in this place. The right not to be misled, the right not to be abused in carrying out our duties.”

Ms Mordaunt went on: “This matters because the integrity of our institutions matter. The respect and trust afforded to them matters. This has real world consequences for the accountability of members of parliament to each other and the members of the public they represent.

“Today, all members should do what they think is right, and others should leave them alone to do so.”

Penny Mordaunt says she will vote to back privileges committee report

16:52 , Andy Gregory

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said she will support the motion to approve the privileges committee report into the conduct of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Asked by shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire about how she would vote, Ms Mordaunt told the Commons: “As the member for Portsmouth North I will be voting to support the committee’s report and recommendations.

“But all members need to make up their own minds and others should leave them alone to do so.”

Watch live: MPs debate Partygate report after committee finds Boris Johnson misled parliament

16:47 , Andy Gregory

Commons debate on Boris Johnson report under way

16:46 , Andy Gregory

The Commons debate over the privileges committee’s report into the conduct of Boris Johnson is now underway.

Introducing the motion, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt told MPs: “The committee’s report found that Mr Johnson deliberately misled the House and the committee and in doing so committed a serious contempt.

“It also found that Mr Johnson breached confidence, undermined the democratic process of this House and was complicit in a campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee. It is for members to decide whether these findings and conclusions and sanctions they propose are correct and reasonable, and that is question in front of us today.”

Ms Mordaunt earlier said parliamentary rules are “obligations we have to one another, to this place and to those that sent us here”, adding: “They are also obligations we have to future generations that will sit in this place too.”

Boris Johnson still more popular than Rishi Sunak among 2019 Tory voters, poll reveals

16:30 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson is more popular than Rishi Sunak among 2019 Tory voters despite his disgrace over Partygate, a shock poll has revealed.

Mr Sunak has been accused of “running scared” of Monday’s vote on the damning report which found Mr Johnson lied to parliament, as the PM tries to distance himself from the scandal.

But the prime minister has an even lower approval rating among Conservatives who backed the party at the last election than Mr Johnson.

Adam Forrest reports:

Boris Johnson still more popular than Sunak among 2019 Tory voters, poll shows

MPs to debate privileges committee’s Partygate report on Boris Johnson

16:16 , Andy Gregory

The Commons is shortly set to debate the explosive Partygate report by MPs on the privileges committee which found that Boris Johnson repeatedly lied to parliament.

MPs are expected to debate the findings today from around 4:30pm. The cross-party committee’s Labour chair Harriet Harman will likely be among those blistering in their criticism of Mr Johnson.

The cross-party committee concluded that Mr Johnson – who quit as an MP and labelled the probe a “kangaroo court” after being told in advance of its findings – should have faced a 90-day suspension for misleading the House, and recommended banning him from receiving a pass to access parliament usually available to former MPs.

It is not clear whether there will ultimately be a vote on the conclusions of the report, which could go through on the nod unless there are objections from Mr Johnson’s supporters.

The former prime minister has been urging his allies not to oppose it, arguing that the sanctions have no practical effect. However, his critics argue that the level of support shown for him would have been very low anyway.

UK will keep Russian sanctions until Ukraine is compensated – Clevely

15:45 , Matt Mathers

The UK has introduced new legislation which will maintain Russian sanctions until compensation is paid to Ukraine, Adam Forrest reports.

Frozen Russian assets could also be donated to fund Ukrainian reconstruction under the plans.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: “Through our new measures today, we’re strengthening the UK’s sanctions approach, affirming that the UK is prepared to use sanctions to ensure Russia pays to repair the country it has so recklessly attacked.”

Boris ally says he won’t give enemies ‘satisfaction’ of Partygate vote

15:15 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson loyalist Brendan Clarke-Smith said he was staying away from parliament today so as not to give the former PM’s enemies “the satisfaction” of a vote – saying he would be watching the cricket instead, Adam Forrest reports.

“I am 100% against today’s appalling recommendations. I fully intended to vote against, but I will be standing with my colleagues and not giving others the satisfaction of taking part in their silly games with a division,” he tweeted.

Senior Labour MP Chris Bryant fired back: “Not doing your job yet again.”

The privileges committee vote is now widely expected to go through “on the nod”. Opposition MPs are set to shout “aye” to approve the report, but if few Johnson allies shouts “no” then there won’t be a division to record votes.

Chickens ‘coming home to roost’ for Tories on Partygate – Bryant

14:57 , Matt Mathers

Senior Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant, chairman of parliament’s committee on standards and privileges, said the “chickens are coming home to roost” for the Conservatives, Archie Mitchell reports.

Responding to the Met’s decision to launch a further investigation to events at Downing Street, Chequers and Tory HQ, Mr Bryant told The Independent: “It feels like justice takes a long time to turn the bend. Finally, chickens are coming home to roost.”

And the emergence of the “jingle and mingle” invite led to fresh calls for those implicated to give up their honours.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said bereaved families across the country would be “appalled to see the latest evidence” of rule-breaking by the Conservatives.

“While the Conservatives ‘jingled and mingled’, the British public followed the rules and did the right thing,” she said.

She added: “Sunak should personally intervene and urge those implicated to give up their honours.”

Rishi Sunak accused of ‘demonising’ trans women as he’s filmed making ‘joke’ about penises

15:09 , Matt Mathers

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has been accused of “demonising” the transgender community after a video emerged in which he said that women “clearly” had penises.

He reportedly made the comments while attending a gathering of the 1922 Committee of Conservative Party back-benchers on 5 June this year.

Mr Sunak also criticised Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, for supporting trans rights in a clip leaked to Pink News.

Full report:

Sunak accused of ‘demonising’ trans women as he’s filmed making ‘joke’ about penises

Sunak rules out mortgage support as he urges banks to help struggling homeowners

14:15 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has urged the banks to offer “bespoke support” for those struggling with their mortgages – but ruled out any extra government extra help for homeowners facing soaring costs.

The Sunak government was urged to “end this mortgage horror show” as the average two-year fixed-rate deal topped 6 per cent for the first time this year – levels last seen in the aftermath of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget.

Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell report:

Sunak rules out mortgage support as he urges banks to help struggling homeowners

Climate campaigners welcome Labour’s clean energy plans

14:00 , Matt Mathers

Climate change campaigners have cautiously welcomed Keir Starmer’s plan for clean energy, saying Labour would be on the “right path” if it sticks to its commitments.

Mr Starmer delivered a speech in Leith, Scotland earlier where he set out Labour’s green energy strategy.

Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “A fully funded green prosperity plan is needed, with urgent investment in a street-by-street insulation programme, alongside a swift and fair transition to renewables.”

Ami McCarthy, Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner, said: “Ensuring clean power by 2030 whilst protecting workers, creating over a million new jobs, giving people warm homes, as well as ending new north sea oil and gas licenses are policies we desperately need.

“If Labour makes good on these commitments, it would be on the right path towards demonstrating real climate leadership, in stark contrast to the current government.”

Breaking: Met Police launch new Partygate investigation into Downing Street and Chequers gatherings

13:39 , Matt Mathers

The Metropolitan Police has launched a new investigation into alleged breaches of Covid laws at Downing Street, Chequers, inside parliament and the Conservative Party headquarters.

The probe includes more gatherings attended by Boris Johnson while he was prime minister, and a Christmas party where Tory staffers were invited to “jingle and mingle”.

Lizzie Dearden has the story:

Met Police launch new Partygate investigation into more gatherings

Arrival of migration barge delayed due to checks and refitting

13:37 , Matt Mathers

On top of his other problems, Rishi Sunak is struggling to meet a series of his own pledges on migration, writes Lizzie Dearden.

The prime minister has made “stopping the boats” one of his key five promises to voters, and two weeks ago hailed a 20% year-on-year drop in Channel crossings as proof his approach was “working”.

But following the arrival of calm weather, more than 2,800 people have arrived in little over a week, and the gap is now just 9% and closing fast.

In the same address on 5 June, Mr Sunak announced the procurement of two further barges to house asylum seekers and said: “The first will arrive in Portland in the next fortnight.”

But The Independent understands the Bibby Stockholm is still undergoing refitting and checks in Falmouth, and will not make the journey to Dorset for weeks.

It may have to undergo further checks after arriving in Portland, meaning the first asylum seekers cannot be housed there until late July or August at the earliest.

The prime minister’s pledge to clear a backlog of “legacy” asylum decisions by the end of this year is also on course to fail, according to a watchdog report released last week.

More on Channel crossings below:

Drop in Channel crossings hailed as proof policies were ‘working’ halves in fortnight

Sunak not due in Commons today

13:30 , Matt Mathers

An appearance in the House of Commons is not in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s schedule for Monday, Downing Street said, as MPs prepare to debate the Privileges Committee’s partygate sanction for Boris Johnson.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I don’t think we know yet whether there will be a vote on this issue.

“The Prime Minister is hosting the prime minister of Sweden. He has a series of meetings (and) an evening commitment.”

Asked whether he planned to attend the Commons if there was a vote, the No 10 official said: “It depends on the timings of the day.

“He has commitments that he can’t move, but obviously it will depend on how the timings in Parliament play out.”

Pressed again on whether Mr Sunak could appear in the Commons, the spokesman said: “Currently you’ve got his schedule for today which doesn’t include attending Parliament, but obviously we will see how the timings play out.”

Sunak and von der Leyen also discuss AI

13:10 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen also spoke about AI (artificial intelligence).

A Downing Street spokesman said: “Following his visit to the US last week, the Prime Minister updated on the UK’s work on artificial intelligence and the leaders discussed the challenges and opportunities of this burgeoning technology.”

“President Von Der Leyen welcomed plans for a UK-hosted global summit on AI later this year and highlighted EU initiatives in this area, and they agreed to cooperate on a shared approach.

“The Prime Minister also noted opportunities for the UK and EU to further develop our joint work on science and technology, including to meet our shared green ambitions.

“He hoped to see progress in discussions on the UK’s possible participation in the Horizon Europe programme, and for the UK and EU to reach a pragmatic agreement on electric vehicle battery manufacturing to support car makers across the continent.”

Sunak and EU chief discuss war in Ukraine

12:45 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen spoke on Monday, No 10 said, to discuss Ukraine and the Greek migrant boat shipwreck.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, this morning.

“He looked forward to welcoming President Von Der Leyen to London for the Ukraine Recovery Conference this week, and they discussed efforts to galvanise international support for Ukraine and drive long-term public and private investment.

“The leaders also reflected on the tragic shipwreck in Greece last week and the brutal business model of people-smuggling gangs.

“They reiterated their commitment to continue working closely together to break the criminal enterprises driving illegal migration, including UK cooperation with the EU border agency Frontex.”

Boris Johnson still more popular than Rishi Sunak among 2019 Tory voters, poll reveals

12:16 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson is more popular than Rishi Sunak among 2019 Tory voters despite his disgrace over Partygate, a shock poll has revealed.

Mr Sunak has been accused of “running scared” of Monday’s vote on the damning report which found Mr Johnson lied to parliament, as the PM tries to distance himself from the scandal.

Adam Forrest reports:

Boris Johnson still more popular than Sunak among 2019 Tory voters, poll shows

Watch: Cameron refuses to answer if Boris Johnson has ‘damaged reputation of Tory party’

11:51 , Matt Mathers

Starmer denies oil and gas plans are hypocritical

11:30 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has denied that Labour’s plans on oil and gas licences are hypocritical.

Labour has promised there will be “no cliff edge” caused by the party’s policy to ban new oil and gas extraction licences in the North Sea, with existing licences kept in place.

It was put to the Labour leader that such an approach is hypocritical, if other countries are being asked not to exploit fossil fuels.

“It is a very clear approach we have taken… There has got to be a transition,” he told reporters.

Our clean energy plans will create 500,000 new jobs – Starmer

10:49 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer said his plans for clean energy would “create good jobs, well-paid jobs, half a million new jobs”, including 50,000 in Scotland.

The Labour leader faces a dispute with unions over his plans to ban new North Sea oil and gas exploration.

But, in a speech in Leith, he said his programme “will power us forward towards net zero, generate growth right across the country, end the suffocating cost-of-living crisis, and get (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s boot off our throat with real energy security”.

“A stronger, more secure Britain, once again at the service of working people, with cheaper bills and clean electricity by 2030.”

Warburton formally quits as MP over cocaine use and harassment allegations

10:13 , Matt Mathers

David Warburton has formally quit as an MP after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use.

The decision means Rishi Sunak faces another potentially difficult by-election in the Somerton and Frome seat vacated by the former Tory MP.

Full report:

Warburton formally quits as MP over cocaine use and harassment allegations

Suella Braverman urges police to ‘ramp up’ use of controversial stop and search

09:45 , Matt Mathers

Suella Braverman has urged police to “ramp up” the use of controversial stop and search powers in a move that has been criticised as “deeply irresponsible” by human rights campaigners.

In a letter to the police chiefs of all 43 forces in England and Wales, the home secretary said officers who use the powers have her “full support”.

She said police powers should be ramped up “to prevent violence and save more lives”. Ms Braverman also singled out “young Black males” who she said are “disproportionately affected” by knife crime.

Martha McHardy reports:

Suella Braverman urges police to ‘ramp up’ use of controversial stop and search

‘An insult to bereaved families’: Sunak and other Tory MPs urged to vote on Partygate report

09:28 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak and other Tory MPs refusing to vote on the Privileges Committee’s report into Boris Johnson lying to Parliament would be “an insult to bereaved families”, the Liberal Democrats have warned, Archie Mitchell reports.

Speaking ahead of a vote on the report, deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Conservative MPs have a choice to “stand up for their constituents or let Boris Johnson off the hook”.

Ms Cooper said: ““Refusing to back this motion would be an insult to bereaved families who grieved alone while Johnson lied and partied.

“The buck stops at the very top of Government – if Rishi Sunak really wanted to govern with integrity he shouldn’t be running scared of this vote.”

Mr Sunak is expected to skip the vote and is meeting with Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson.

Failure to transition to renewables will go down as ‘strategic error’ – Starmer

09:17 , Matt Mathers

Failure to transition to renewable energy and create green jobs will go down as a “strategic failure” in generations to come, Keir Starmer has warned.

The Labour leader told BBC Radio 4: “The whole world knows that the future of power is bound up with renewables.

“Look what’s happening in America – the Inflation Reduction Act – it’s like a magnet for business and investment.

“We can’t sit this out  – we have a real opportunity to get ahead in this country and this idea that we can’t do it, we can’t compete…in generations to come this will go down as a strategic error that cost jobs.”

Mr Starmer added that the UK could not afford to miss the opportunity for “cheaper bills” and “energy security”.

Labour could stop local communities from blocking onshore wind farms

09:05 , Matt Mathers

Labour could stop local communities from vetoing new onshore windfarms, Keir Starmer has suggested.

He told BBC Radio 4: “I hope we don’t come to that point because I think that if we manage this through we can actually achieve something where there’s real consensus and the communities see the benefits.

“But yes, there has to come a point where – if we’re to move forward – that we don’t have simple individual vetoes across the whole of the country.”

I won’t put forward resignation honours list – Starmer

08:55 , Matt Mathers

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would not put forward a resignation honours list following a potential stint as prime minister.

The Opposition leader, asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether he would have a resignation honours, said: “No. There are other opportunities but Tony Blair didn’t have a resignation list.

“It is very hard to justify.

“If it was reserved for people who had given incredible service… perhaps picking out people who had been involved in the development of the vaccine or some other real element of public service… but it is very hard to see how it is justified.

“There are other avenues for that and I think it is easier to be clean about this and say no, I wouldn’t do it. Tony Blair didn’t do it and I wouldn’t do it.”

Sunak should have said ‘no’ to Johnson’s resignation honours list – Starmer

08:41 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak “should have said no” to Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, Sir Keir Starmer has said as two of those who featured attended a boozy Christmas dance party at Tory headquarters during lockdown, Archie Mitchell reports.

The Labour leader said it is “simply inappropriate” for Shaun Bailey and Ben Mallet to be awarded.

The party at Tory HQ was organised by the campaign team for Lord Bailey, who was running for London mayor at the time, and was awarded a peerage by Mr Johnson. Ben Mallet, a former aide to the ex-prime minister who was awarded an OBE last week, is shown chatting to guests in the latest footage.

“It is only the latest of these videos or evidence of wrongdoing at Downing Street or Tory Party headquarters,” Sir Keir said.

He added: “I think most people look at that and say it is simply inappropriate for two of the people in that video to be getting honours. Why on earth didn’t Rishi Sunak simply say no?”

The Labour leader said he would have scrapped Mr Johnson’s honours if he were PM, adding that Mr Sunak should have waited to approve the list until the publication of a report into whether his predecessor had lied to Parliament.

“Whatever the previous conventions, we’ve never had a situation like this, where a previous Prime Minister has been found to have lied to Parliament not once but repeatedly,” Sir Keir said.

And he confirmed that if he becomes PM after the next election, he will not have a resignation honours list. “Tony Blair didn’t do it and I wouldn’t do it,” Sir Keir said.

Sue Gray and I weren’t asked to contribute to Civil Service probe, Stamer says

08:29 , Matt Mathers

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said neither he nor Sue Gray were asked to contribute to a Civil Service investigation into the former senior official’s move to become his chief-of-staff.

It follows reports that partygate investigator Ms Gray was found, following a Cabinet Office inquiry, to have breached Whitehall impartiality rules by holding job talks with Labour while still a civil servan.

Sir Keir told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme: “I don’t know anything about this Cabinet Office inquiry.

“Nobody asked me, or as far as I know, Sue, any questions in relation to it.

“So I don’t know where that has come from, I don’t know who wrote it, I haven’t seen it, I haven’t been asked to contribute towards it.

“So I would actually put that on one side. The committee that matters is the committee that has been in place, that makes a decision on whether someone coming out of the Civil Service can take up another job.

“That committee is in the process of making its decision, that is the only decision that actually matters.”

Tory MP says will vote to support committee’s report

08:07 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Conservative MP Stephen Hammond said he was planning to vote, should one be called, in favour of the Commons Privileges Committee ruling that Boris Johnson misled MPs over partygate.

Speaking to TalkTV, the former health minister said: “If there is a vote on it, and I think it is quite a big ‘if’ actually, I will vote to support the committee’s report.

“I think there are two issues here. Firstly, regardless of who this report is about, we have House of Commons procedures and if we’re not prepared to uphold them in this case, will we be prepared to uphold them in future cases?

“And if we can’t support what the committee which we set up has said, are we capable of self-regulating ourselves? And do we really want judges and outside people doing this sort of inquiry in the future? I think not.

“So there is a point of principle here for Members of Parliament to think about quite carefully, about our own rules and how Parliament and the sovereignty of Parliament works.”

Mr Hammond said the findings had come from a “committee of our peers”, adding: “They have listened to all the evidence, they have come to this conclusion, and I think they deserve support for coming to this conclusion.”

Tory peer says ‘no question’ Partygate caused ‘enormous problems’

07:37 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Conservative peer Lord Hayward has said there is “no question” Partygate caused “enormous problems”

Speaking about “Boris backers”, he told Sky News: “I don’t think they will force a vote. But I think they have recognised the support for Boris has ebbed away quite markedly over the last few months.”

Watch the full clip here:

Revealed: Full extent of boozing, debauchery and blatant Covid rule-breaking

07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A former Downing Street official who worked throughout the Covid crisis has revealed the true scale of the drunken debauchery under Boris Johnson – with No 10 parties so wild that staff passed out on the stairway.

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, the whistleblower said the details in the Partygate report were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the raucous drinking culture and blatant rule-breaking throughout the pandemic.The insider revealed:

• Boris Johnson was aware of regular drinks parties during lockdown

• The former PM oversaw a “toxic masculine culture” at Downing Street

• No 10 staff were ill “all of the time” but were told “no point” wearing masks

Adam Forrest has more.

Revealed: Full extent of boozing, debauchery and rule-breaking inside Boris’s No 10

Covid victim’s daughter says Johnson’s honours list is ‘tainted with blood’

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A woman who lost her father to Covid has said Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list is “tainted with blood” after damning new footage showed Conservative staff partying during lockdown.

Ruth Carney’s father Peter Carney died alone in hospital on 2 May 2020, just months before a video showing Tory staff joking about “bending the rules” at the gathering when indoor socialising was banned under Tier 2 restrictions on 14 December 2020.

Ms Carney, a TV and theatre director, said it was insulting to see Tory staff drinking and dancing when families could not be with their loved ones when they died – especially as two of those present have since been given honours by Mr Johnson.

She said: “That honours list is really rubbing salt in the wound – how dare he be allowed to do that? It should be scrapped.“I’m sure there are people on there who are worthy and should be honoured but do they really want to be honoured on his list? It’s tainted with blood.”

Tara Cobham reports.

Daughter of Covid victim says Boris Johnson’s honours list is ‘tainted with blood’

Micheal Gove to abstain from vote

06:25 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Michael Gove has said he will abstain from voting on the report which found Boris Johnson lied to MPs over Partygate because he disagrees with its conclusion.

Mr Gove claimed the privileges committee’s finding that the former prime minister should have been suspended from parliament for 90 days was “not merited”.

He refused to be drawn on whether he believed the prime minister should back the report, saying it is a matter for “each individual” MP to decide for themselves.

Mr Gove also apologised after a “terrible” and “completely out of order” video showing Conservative Party workers at a Christmas party during lockdown in 2020 was published by The Mirror.

“I just want to apologise to everyone really who, looking at that image, will think well these are people who are flouting the rules that were put in place to protect us all,” he told Sky News.

Video ‘shows Tories dancing, drinking and laughing at lockdown rules’

05:53 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Partygate video appearing to show Tory staff drinking, dancing and joking about “bending” Covid lockdown rules has emerged, piling further pressure on the party just days after Boris Johnson was found to have lied about rules being followed.

The video, said to have been taken on 14 December 2020, when socialising inside was banned in parts of the UK, shows for the first time, staff joking about their Christmas party at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in London breaking the rules, according to The Mirror.

The party was organised by the campaign team behind Shaun Bailey’s ultimately failed bid to become mayor of London and “formal disciplinary action” was taken against four staff members over the “unauthorised” event.

William Mata has more.

New Partygate video ‘shows Tories dancing, drinking and laughing at lockdown rules’

Commons watchdog denies claims from David Warburton

05:26 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Commons watchdog has denied criticisms from a departing Conservative MP after an investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) into allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use.

David Warburton resigned from his Somerton and Frome seat on Saturday, leaving Rishi Sunak facing another potentially damaging by-election.

Mr Warburton said he was prevented from “speaking out” while the accusation was investigated and said it had been an “extraordinarily difficult” 14 months fighting “malicious allegations”.

In his resignation letter he said he was left with “no choice” than to provoke “the upheaval of a by-election”, saying: “It is my hope that, in so doing, I can freely illuminate the methods of an oversight system not fit for purpose, so that friends and colleagues in the House can see the perverted process by which their own judgement may at any time be freighted.”

A spokesperson from the House of Commons said: “Parliament remains absolutely committed to the ICGS.”

Perception Johnson unpopular in Scotland ‘false’, claims secretary

05:16 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Alister Jack has said the perception former prime minister Boris Johnson is unpopular in Scotland is “false”.

Mr Jack, an ally of the beleaguered former premier who was found last week to have deliberately misled MPs in his denials over partygate, said he had never witnessed any abuse when Mr Johnson had visited Scotland.

An Ipsos Mori poll of 1,000 Scots released in May last year in the midst of press reports about parties in and around Downing Street during the pandemic, and just two months before he was forced from office, suggested Mr Johnson had a net approval rating of -71 per cent, with 83 per cent of respondents reporting a negative view of him.

More here.

Perception Boris Johnson unpopular in Scotland ‘false’, claims Jack

Tories face outrage over Covid lockdown party video

05:07 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Conservative Party is facing fresh outrage following the release of video showing people partying at its headquarters during lockdown.

The video shows attendees drinking, dancing and appearing to joke about Covid restrictions at a time when indoor socialising was banned.

Two of those at the party, held in the basement of Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in London in December 2020, were in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list. The Metropolitan Police said yesterday that the force was “aware of the footage” – published by The Mirror – and are “considering it”.

Ruth Carney, whose father died alone in hospital in May 2020, said it was insulting that Tory staff could be drinking and dancing after she had not been able to be with her father at the end.

“Then … they’re having a party and dancing. I’m fuming, I’m extremely angry, I absolutely cannot believe this – it’s like some kind of joke,” she said of the video.

Archie Mitchell reports.

Tories face outrage over Covid lockdown party video

04:53 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Rishi Sunak is reportedly set to skip a debate of the damning report that found Boris Johnson lied over partygate, amid reignited anger over the scandal following a newly published video.

The motion on the privileges committee’s findings comes as Scotland Yard is “considering” the footage from a 2020 Christmas gathering at Conservative Party headquarters.

Whether or not a vote on the report takes place today – which is incidentally the former prime minister’s birthday – depends in part on how many Johnson loyalists decide to oppose the report.

Tory MPs will be given a free vote, but allies of Mr Johnson warned they could face battles with their local parties to remain as candidates at the next election if they back the motion.

Senior backbencher Bill Cash, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said he would turn up to vote against the findings, citing the former prime minister’s “historic achievements”.

04:27 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live blog bringing you the latest updates from Westminster.