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The former prime minister has warned that "desperate and shameful" efforts to attack the committee will backfire. Some Conservative Party members are still 'raving' about Boris Johnson, says Dominic Grieve Boris Johnson and his allies have been accused of trying to "harass" and intimidate an investigative committee of MPs ahead of their televised showdown at Partygate on Wednesday.
Senior Conservatives have joined Labor in urging Camp Johnson to end "disgraceful" efforts to undermine the privileges committee, warning it is "bordering on contempt of Parliament".
Johnson's legal team finally delivered a defense brief to the committee on Monday, but his rebuttal to allegations that he lied to Parliament is not expected to be published until Tuesday after the redactions.
With the former prime minister's political future at stake, his allies have repeatedly criticized the inquiry, calling it a "McCarthyan witch hunt" and pressing four Conservative MPs on the all-party committee to resign.
M. Grieve a jouté: "C'est une caractéristique centrale de la carrière de Johnson qu'il ait une capacité unique à souiller tout ce qu'il touche … In dehors du Parlement, il a été démontré à manyieurs reprises qu'il était a liar."
Johnson is said to have claimed in his retaliation file that the committee was "illegal" and politically biased, pointing to earlier tweets by House Speaker Harriet Harman that suggested the former prime minister "knowingly lied" about the parties. at No. 10.
The close ally of former Conservative leader Conor Burns, the former Northern Ireland secretary, questioned Harman's impartiality on Monday, suggesting he held "predetermined" views on the matter.
Follow the Conservative Post, a website affiliated with Lord Cruddas' Conservative Democratic Organization (CDO), urging party members to email the four Conservative MPs on the committee urging them to drop the inquiry of the "banana republic".
A senior Conservative MP accused Johnson and his allies of trying to "intimidate" the committee in a way that "borders on contempt of Parliament".
Boris Johnson outside his home on Monday
Sir Keir Starmer also accused Johnson of trying to "intimidate" MPs investigating him over the Partygate scandal.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper compared moves to undermine the investigation to Donald Trump. "Johnson's attempts to discredit his work are Trumpian and prove that he was never fit for office in the first place."
Rishi Sunak will give Conservative MPs a free vote on any recommended sanction for Boris Johnson
A spokesperson for the panel of MPs said: 'The committee intends to publish this as soon as possible. The material will be posted on the committee website.
He is expected to include a message from his then communications director, Jack Doyle, offering him a 'line to follow' at the demonstrations before telling MPs that no guidelines or rules were broken.
But in its recent damning 20-page interim report, the privileges committee dismissed the fact that Johnson's key claim, that all Covid rules were followed, came from special counsel and was not "a general guarantee (that ) no guidelines or rules have been established". It has broken".
Conservative pollster Lord Hayward said on Monday that any attempt to bring Johnson back as Conservative leader would be seen as "a complete joke" by voters. The couple said Sunak "has the potential to buoy conservatives" if he can cut out "all the noise about other things".
If it turns out that he lied to parliament, MPs are expected to vote on punishment. If a suspension of at least 10 days is imposed, Johnson could face a recall petition from his constituents that could trigger a by-election.
Sunak has made it clear that he will not use the Tory whip to pressure his colleagues ahead of any vote in the coming weeks.
On Monday, its official spokesperson backed House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt's warning that "a very negative view will be taken" of anyone "trying to stop" the committee from carrying out its work.
Former Conservative chancellor George Osborne said on Channel 4's The Andrew Neil Show that it was "unclear" whether the prime minister would campaign for Johnson if he faced a by-election.
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Boris Johnson faces a four-hour questioning on Wednesday
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