Boris says Tory MP on Partygate committee should resign over own breach

Boris Johnson has launched a “last-ditch attempt” to scupper the long-awaited Partygate report, calling on senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin to resign from the privileges committee for himself breaching the lockdown rules.

The former PM called on Sir Bernard to “explain his actions” after the pro-Johnson website Guido Fawkes claimed he had also broken lockdown rules by attending a drinks reception for his wife’s birthday in December 2020.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “Bernard Jenkin has just voted to expel me from parliament for allegedly trying to conceal from parliament my knowledge of illicit events.

“Now it turns out he may have for the whole time known that he himself attended an event – and concealed this from the privileges committee and the whole House for the last year.”

A source close to the committee said it was “desperate stuff” from the Boris camp, and noted that the committee was ruling on Mr Johnson’s claims in the Commons rather than the gatherings themselves.

The attempt to undermine the report due on Thursday came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of being “too weak” to block his predecessor’s resignation.