A committee of British lawmakers has criticized allies of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Parliament for attempting to impede their investigation into his alleged lies about rule-breaking

parties in his office during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House of Commons Privileges Committee accused senior Conservatives, including former Cabinet ministers under Johnson, of undermining the procedures of the House of Commons.

According to the committee, Johnson's allies, such as former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and former House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, launched strong attacks on the committee through social media, radio, and television. The committee noted that Dorries and Rees-Mogg hosted their own shows on a right-wing news channel, which served as platforms for these attacks.

These individuals, along with several other lawmakers, referred to the ethics probe into Johnson as a "kangaroo court," a "witch hunt," and a miscarriage of justice, echoing the language used by the former prime minister himself.

The report singled out eight allies of Boris Johnson, including Zac Goldsmith, a member of the House of Lords and a serving Foreign Office minister.

The committee, which consists of four Conservative members and three from opposition parties, stated that the purpose of these statements was to frustrate the House's intention to carry out the inquiry or to prevent the inquiry from reaching an undesired conclusion.

Earlier this month, the committee issued a damning report on Johnson's conduct during the "partygate" scandal, accusing him of lying about parties that breached lockdown rules and being complicit in a campaign to intimidate investigators.

The committee recommended a 90-day suspension from Parliament for Johnson due to his flagrant violation of the rules, but he evaded this by resigning as a lawmaker after receiving advance notice of the committee's findings.

The House of Commons endorsed the committee's report last week with a vote of 354 to 7.

While the committee lacks the power to sanction the lawmakers accused of intimidation, it recommended that a motion be passed stating that the integrity of the committee and its members should not be questioned, and that lobbying or intimidation of committee members or encouragement of such actions should be prohibited.

The committee concluded by stating that it is up to the House to decide on further action, if any, against the lawmakers mentioned in the special report. Photo by GOV.UK, Wikimedia commons.