Boris Johnson Partygate report: North East MPs have their say

On Monday (June 19) evening, MPs voted overwhelmingly to back a damning report that found Boris Johnson lied to Parliament with his partygate denials.

Just seven MPs voted against the Privileges Committee’s findings, in a humiliating defeat for the former prime minister less than a year after he left No 10.

Read more: North East £1 'tourist tax' suggested by Kim McGuinness

With 354 votes in favour, MPs endorsed sanctions against Mr Johnson recommended by the committee, including banning him from having a pass to access Parliament, which is usually available to former MPs.

The Tory-majority panel also concluded that Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension for misleading the House when he told the Commons that Covid rules were obeyed in No 10 despite parties taking place.

Darlington MP Peter Gibson (Image: Peter Gibson MP)

The vote followed several hours of debate, during which Tory and opposition MPs delivered a series of blistering speeches in which Mr Johnson was criticised as a “man child who won’t see that he only has himself to blame” and defended as “a human too”.

Conservative MPs were given a free vote, with 118 backing the report and the majority opting to stay away, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as North East Conservative MPs Richard Holden, Dehenna Davison, Jacob Young, Matt Vickers, Paul Howell and a host of others who abstained.

Darlington MP Peter Gibson and Hexham MP Guy Opperman were the only two North East Conservatives to vote to approve the report.  Hexham MP Guy Opperman (Image: Contributor)

Speaking just before the vote, Mr Gibson praised Boris Johnson by calling him "a great champion for our region," but went on to say: "I cannot support a parliamentary process and then not accept the outcome of that process, even if I consider the sanction excessive."

He added: "The sting to the sanction is effectively ineffective due to his resignation as a Member of Parliament.

"In the event of a Division I will vote to accept the report."

Mr Opperman, who has been MP for Hexham since 2010, told The Northern Echo: "I have read the report in full. It is not acceptable to mislead the House of Commons, whoever the person, whatever the surrounding circumstances.

"The House of Commons is more important than all of us."

A notable asbence from the vote on Monday was Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke, who had promised to vote against the report at the end of last week, tweeting on Friday: "I am amazed at the harshness of today’s report by the Privileges Committee.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke (Image: PA MEDIA)

"I believed Boris before and I believe him today. This punishment is absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness, and I will vote against this report on Monday."

However, he failed to cast a vote and did not repond to requests from The Northern Echo to explain his decision.

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison told The Northern Echo that she was taken unwell and was unable to vote. 

However, if given the choice, she said she would have voted to accept the report. 

She added: “The Privileges Committee has carried out an extensive investigation and found the former Prime Minister to be guilty of misleading Parliament.

“I sincerely hope we can now move on and give our full focus to tackling the pressing and immediate issues facing our country and community today.”

On the other side of the political spectrum, all North East Labour MPs all voted to accept the report - with the political line from the party calling on the "fundamental principle of parliamentary democracy".

North Durham MP, Kevan Jones, spoke to The Northern Echo after the vote, saying: “I voted to support the report of the Privileges Committee, which found that Boris Johnson lied to Parliament.

"This is a Conservative-majority committee, which was tasked by a Conservative-majority House of Commons.

"That a Prime Minister lied to Parliament is incredibly serious and worthy of serious sanction. That the current Prime Minister sided with Boris Johnson’s allies by abstaining shows just how weak and devoid of integrity he is.”