Rishi Sunak could be dragged into Partygate probe, colleagues warn

Rishi Sunak could be dragged into Partygate probe if he wins Tory leadership race, colleagues warn

  • Johnson allies warn privileges committee investigation could come back to bite Mr Sunak 
  • Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson were both fined for attending brief gathering in 2020 
  • In the ensuing controversy, Mr Sunak reportedly had to be talked out of quitting 

Rishi Sunak was warned that he could be dragged into the Commons ‘Partygate’ probe as he seemed on course to become leader of the Conservatives last night.

Supporters of the former chancellor had dismissed the idea of a Boris Johnson comeback as a ‘guaranteed disaster’ because of the inquiry hanging over the ex-prime minister.

But Mr Johnson had told supporters during a virtual call yesterday morning that the inquiry could still call other witnesses, including Mr Sunak.

One MP on the call said Mr Johnson had claimed he had a ‘pretty solid’ legal case, adding: ‘[The probe] could call others as well. They could call Labour, they could call Rishi, it would never end.’

Supporters of the former chancellor had dismissed the idea of a Boris Johnson comeback as a ‘guaranteed disaster’ because of the inquiry hanging over the ex-prime minister

Nadine Dorries, one of Mr Johnson’s closest allies, also warned that the privileges committee investigation could come back to bite Mr Sunak. 

She said the inquiry was a ‘witch-hunt’ against Mr Johnson and that – because the committee chairman is Labour’s Harriet Harman – it could look at dragging in other Tories to plunge the party into fresh chaos.

The former culture secretary told the Daily Mail: ‘The privileges committee doesn’t have a shred of evidence on Boris.

‘They haven’t decided yet on the terms of reference. If Rishi wins, they’re going to use that to scoop him in because Rishi was in the same building as Boris, with the same people, working throughout the same time. If there’s anything Boris knew, he knew.

‘So Rishi supporters really need to be careful what they wish for. [Mr Sunak] hasn’t misled the House but they may want to know more about what he knew about parties going on. It could backfire on Rishi’s supporters massively.’

Wellingborough MP Peter Bone, who also backed Mr Johnson, said: ‘Conservative voters want [Mr Johnson] back. The fact Rishi’s camp is using the inquiry shows they are very worried… and I think they should be.’

She said the inquiry was a ‘witch-hunt’ against Mr Johnson and that – because the committee chairman is Labour’s Harriet Harman (pictured)– it could look at dragging in other Tories to plunge the party into fresh chaos

The privileges committee is probing whether Mr Johnson deliberately misled the Commons over Downing Street parties when coronavirus lockdown measures were in place.

Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson were both fined in April for attending a brief gathering in June 2020 to mark the then-prime minister’s birthday.

In the ensuing controversy, Mr Sunak reportedly had to be talked out of quitting and publicly apologised ‘for the hurt and the anger that this has caused so many people’.

During Mr Johnson’s final days in office, the Government published legal advice written by the barrister Lord Pannick KC which said the investigation’s approach was ‘fundamentally flawed’ and ‘wrong in principle’.

The advice, commissioned by the Cabinet Office, added that MPs on the privileges committee are ‘proposing to adopt an unfair procedure’ by not allowing Mr Johnson to have legal representation and allowing evidence from anonymous witnesses.

However, were the inquiry to find against Mr Johnson, he could be suspended as an MP – which could have plunged the party into fresh chaos had he become Tory leader. Speaking before Mr Johnson pulled out of the leadership race last night, Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker said: ‘There is going to be a vote before the House of Commons on whether [Mr Johnson] deliberately misled the house.

‘In that vote it is guaranteed there will be a large number of Conservatives who will refuse to lay down their integrity to save him. I’m afraid that because of the privileges committee vote, Boris Johnson would be a guaranteed disaster [if he won].’

Dominic Raab, Mr Johnson’s former deputy who is also backing Mr Sunak, added: ‘Look, I’d love to see Boris Johnson come back to frontline politics, I’m speaking personally.

‘But we have this major issue which led to him having to resign, which is Partygate. And in a matter of days, not weeks, he’s going to see televised witness testimony, including his own, which is going to take him right back into that spiral.’

Had Mr Johnson won the leadership race, he could have organised a Commons vote on a motion for the investigation to be quashed.

Mr Johnson had told supporters he would not do this and would treat the probe with the ‘utmost courtesy’. But many MPs had warned they would resign the party whip if he had become Tory leader – potentially sparking an election.

George Osborne, who served as chancellor from 2010 until 2016, told Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show that this would have posed a real risk and would cause a ‘crisis’ to develop before the privileges committee began taking evidence.

Candidates need the backing of 100 MPs by 2pm today to make it on to the ballot paper.

Mr Sunak had surged past the threshold before Mr Johnson pulled out last night, with 146 MPs publicly backing him.

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