Partygate report latest LIVE: Tory civil war tensions spiral as MPs given vote on damning Boris Johnson partygate report

Rishi Sunak faces bitter Tory infighting erupting in public when MPs vote on whether to approve a damning report which found Boris Johnson committed "repeated contempts" of Parliament.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt confirmed that the Privileges Committee's findings will be debated on Monday, June 19 - the same date as Mr Johnson's 59th birthday.

MPs are expected to have a free vote, which is likely to expose rifts between Conservative MPs who back the former prime minister and those who want to see him being sanctioned.

Blue-on-blue sniping has already begun, with arch-Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries calling for Tories who vote against the former prime minister to be kicked out of the party.

But Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said he will support the recommendations of the Privileges Committee "because we as a Parliament asked them to do this job".

The Privileges Committee report published today found he committed “repeated contempts” of Parliament by deliberately misleading MPs with his partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation, a cross-party investigation found on Thursday.

Branding him the first former prime minister to have ever lied to the Commons, the Privileges Committee recommended a 90-day suspension which would have paved the way for a by-election if he had not quit in anticipation.

His resignation means he will escape that punishment but the committee recommended that he should not receive the pass granting access to Parliament which is normally given to former MPs.

The former Conservative leader hit out at what he called a “deranged conclusion”, accusing the Tory-majority group of MPs led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman, who he has repeatedly sought to disparage, of lying.

Mr Johnson called the committee “beneath contempt” and claimed its 14-month investigation had delivered “what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination”.

They found the former prime minister had committed a “serious contempt” for “deliberately misleading” MPs by insisting all rules had been followed in Downing Street despite lockdown-breaching parties.

The MPs had provisionally agreed a suspension long enough to potentially trigger a by-election before Mr Johnson resigned in protest at the findings, attacking the committee as a “kangaroo court”.

But they said he committed further contempts by undermining the democratic processes of the Commons and being “complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee”.

Key Points

• Report finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over Partygate

• Committee recommended 90-day suspension if Johnson had not quit

• Boris Johnson hits back: Report is ‘charade’ and has ‘twisted the truth’

• MPs to debate and vote on Partygate report on Monday

What do we know about the Privileges Committee report?

07:59 , Josh Salisbury

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today’s political events, including the much-awaited report into whether Boris Johnson misled MPs over partygate.

The report is expected to be released at around 9am on Thursday and to be some 30,000 words long.

Mr Johnson has indicated he will make his “views clear" once it is released - although he resigned on Friday as an MP after receiving a draft, calling the committee a “kangaroo court”.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Johnson will be found to have committed “multiple" contempts of Parliament, including disclosing some of its draft findings in his resignation statement last week.

Meanwhile, according to the Times, the MPs on the panel have rejected his defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10.

A senior aide in fact warned him against claiming to the Commons that social distancing guidelines were observed, the newspaper reported.

The committee could also raise concerns about MPs who have criticised the 14-month probe, but not name them.

Sunak refuses to discuss Partygate report

08:07 , Josh Salisbury

Rishi Sunak stressed on Thursday that a damning report on Boris Johnson misleading the Commons was a “matter for Parliament”, writes Nicholas Cecil, political editor.

As the Tory civil war over the ex-PM escalated, Mr Sunak sought to avoid being dragged deeper into the controversy.

The report, which is expected to conclude that the former prime minister misled Parliament when he denied that lockdown rules were broken in Number 10, is due to be released later today.

However, at an immigration visit in Harrow, Mr Sunak said he could not comment on a report he had not seen.

Asked if he believed if Mr Johnson should be allowed to be an MP, the Prime Minister said: “You are talking about a report that I haven’t seen and that no one else has seen. It wouldn’t be right to comment on it in advance of it coming out and being published.”

He added: “These are matters for the House of Commons, and Parliament will deal with it in the way that it does.”

Mr Sunak was also asked if he was “frustrated” by Mr Johnson’s interventions in the past week. “No, I’m just getting on with delivering for the country,” he said.

Conservatives ‘left picking up pieces’ for Boris Johnson - senior Tory MP

08:20 , Josh Salisbury

The support Boris Johnson once enjoyed from the Conservative Party is rapidly changing into disappointment and anger, a senior Tory MP has said.

Tobias Ellwood suggested Mr Johnson's “long-term intention" of plotting a comeback now looked less possible as the Conservatives are “left to pick up the pieces".

“Johnson's confidence stemmed from the huge support he received from the party base," Mr Ellwood, a former government minister, told Sky News.

“He was loved by members across the country but this is changing before our very eyes. There's now disappointment even anger that the party, the activists are left to pick up the pieces.”

MPs should not ‘impugn integrity’ of Partygate committee, says former Tory leader

08:26 , Josh Salisbury

A former Conservative leader has criticised MPs for “impugning the integrity” of the Privileges Committee.

Lord Howard, the former leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005, said it was “quite wrong” for MPs to criticise the committee.

Boris Johnson called it a “kangaroo court” upon resigning on Friday, a sentiment that has been echoed by some of his allies.

Lord Howard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This committee was set up by Parliament and those of us who respect Parliament and the fact that we are a parliamentary democracy should not in my view impugn the integrity of the committee.

“In fact the committee was set up by parliament I believe when Boris Johnson was prime minister.

“So I am not going to speculate on the report, obviously, I have no idea what it contains but I think it is quite wrong to, particularly for members of Parliament, to impugn that important parliamentary committee set up by the House of Commons.”

Johnson accused of ‘distraction tactics’ ahead of Partygate report

08:28 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson has been accused of using “distraction tactics” after it was alleged a member of the Privileges Committee broke lockdown rules, writes political correspondent, Rachael Burford.

Just hours before the report expected to confirm that the former PM misled Parliament over Partygate was due to be released, allegations emerged that senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin attended a birthday party when Covid restrictions were in place.

Mr Johnson called for Sir Bernard to resign and said: “He has no choice but to explain himself.”

But Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This a typical distraction tactic from Boris Johnson that doesn’t change the fact he broke the law and lied about it.”

Johnson ally questions Partygate committee’s impartiality

08:45 , Josh Salisbury

An ally of Boris Johnson has questioned the impartiality of the Privileges Committee - which has a Tory majority - ahead of the Partygate report.

Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield, said he trusted Parliament, but questioned the impartiality of members of the seven-member committee.

Four of the seven members of the committee are Conservative MPs, two members are Labour MPs, and one represents the SNP.

Mr Fabricant told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “I looked at the members of the committee, some of them behaved in a totally proper way. Others were pulling faces, indicating they didn’t agree with what Boris was saying.

“I was quite shocked actually by their behaviour. Justice has to be seen to be done but I am not convinced the committee were demonstrating their impartiality.”

Senior Tory MP urges Nadine Dorries to stand down

09:00 , Josh Salisbury

A senior Tory MP has told Nadine Dorries she must officially step down for the “good” of the party and the country, writes Rachael Burford, political correspondent.

Chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood said the former Culture Secretary dragging out her resignation would mean a “public pantomime” continues to distract from the cost of living crisis and other issues facing Britain.

“It harms the party,” he told Sky News. “It’s not good for the nation. It distracts the Government so please send in your letter to the Chancellor, make it clear you are stepping back.”

Boris Johnson announced he was resigning as an MP for his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat last week after reading the Privileges Committee report into whether he misled Parliament over partygate.

Ally Nigel Adams also stepped down after being excluded from the former PM’s resignation honours list and Ms Dorries announced she will go too. But her demands for answers about why she was denied a peerage before she formally quits as an MP look set to prolong the by-election struggle for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr Ellwood added: “When you have two by-elections taking place, but a third delayed until potentially we return in September it just drags the damage out. It does nobody any favours whatsoever. Allow those by-elections all to take place on one day.”

Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over Partytgate, report finds

09:08 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over partygate and should be suspended for 90 days, an official report found today.

The former Prime Minister resigned after seeing the Privileges Committee’s findings last week.

In a damning summary, the committee said: “We conclude that when he told the House and this Committee that the rules and guidance were being complied with, his own knowledge was such that he deliberately misled the House and this committee.”

‘No precedent’ for Prime Minister having misled Parliament - report

09:13 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson misled Parliament deliberately, the Committee has found, and did so repeatedly, the 180-page report has found.

The committee found: “We have concluded above that in deliberately misleading the House Mr Johnson committed a serious contempt.

“The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government.

“There is no precedent for a Prime Minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House.

“He misled the House on an issue of the greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly.

“He declined our invitation to reconsider his assertions that what he said to the House was truthful.

“His defence to the allegation that he misled was an ex post facto justification and no more than an artifice. He misled the Committee in the presentation of his evidence.”

Committee recommends Boris Johnson not be given ex-MP Commons pass

09:18 , Josh Salisbury

In a further humiliation the Committee recommends Mr Johnson should not be entitled to a former Members pass that would allow him access to the Parliamentary estate after his resignation.

The Committee recommended that in light of Mr Johnson’s attack on the Committee’s integrity, he should not be entitled to a former member’s pass.

Mr Johnson resigned as an MP last week upon receiving a draft of the report.

The report also said that were Mr Johnson still an MP, he should be given a suspension of 90 days from Parliament - a far longer sanction that had been expected.

Boris Johnson: Report is ‘charade’ and committee ‘twisted the truth'

09:21 , Josh Salisbury

In a fiery statement, Mr Johnson has called the report a “charade” and said it has pressed “trumped up” charges against him.

Doubling down on remarks he made upon his resignation as an MP on Friday, he said: “This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the Committee or its good faith.

“The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes. It is [chairperson] Harriet Harman and her Committee.

“This is a dreadful day for MPs and for democracy. This decision means that no MP is free from vendetta, or expulsion on trumped up charges by a tiny minority who want to see him or her gone from the Commons.”

Privileges Committee says Johnson ‘attacked our democratic institutions'

09:22 , Josh Salisbury

The Privileges Committee said Boris Johnson’s attack of its work amounts to “an attack on our democratic institutions”.

Its report said: “We note that Mr Johnson does not merely criticise the fairness of the committee’s procedures; he also attacks in very strong, indeed vitriolic, terms the integrity, honesty and honour of its members.

“He stated that the committee had ‘forced him out (...) anti-democratically’.

“This attack on a committee carrying out its remit from the democratically elected House itself amounts to an attack on our democratic institutions.

“We consider that these statements are completely unacceptable. In our view this conduct, together with the egregious breach of confidentiality, is a serious further contempt.”

Lib Dems call for Johnson to be stripped of £115k ex-PM allowance

09:34 , Josh Salisbury

The Liberal Democrats have called for Boris Johnson to be stripped of his ex-PM allowance in the wake of the report, writes political correspondent, Rachael Burford.

Former Prime Ministers are entitled to claim up to £115,000 a year to fund office costs for life. The Liberal Democrats said allowing Mr Johnson to take the money would be “an insult to bereaved families who suffered while Boris Johnson lied and partied.”

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “This damning report should be the final nail in the coffin for Boris Johnson’s political career. It is completely unprecedented for a former Prime Minister to be found to have been a law-breaker and serial liar, who treated the public and Parliament with total disdain.

“Rishi Sunak must cut off Johnson’s ex-Prime Minister allowance to stop him milking the public purse for his own personal gain. Anything less would be an insult to bereaved families who suffered while Boris Johnson lied and partied."

Committee finds Boris Johnson misled Parliament in five ways

09:39 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson misled the Commons in five different ways, the Privileges Committee has found.

In its report, the committee said the former prime minister had misled the Commons by:

1) Claiming Covid rules and guidance were followed at all times in Number 10 on four separate occasions;

2) Failing to tell the House “about his own knowledge of the gatherings where the rules or guidance had been broken";

3) Saying he relied on "repeated reassurances" that rules had not been broken;

4) Insisting on waiting for Sue Gray's report to be published before he could answer questions in the House, when he had "personal knowledge which he did not reveal";

5) By claiming that rules and guidance had been followed while he was present at gatherings in Number 10 when he "purported to correct the record" in May 2022.

The committee also found Mr Johnson had been “disingenuous" when giving evidence to them in six “ways which amount to misleading”.

Two committee members wanted Johnson expelled from Commons

09:46 , Josh Salisbury

Two members of the seven-member Committee recommended that Boris Johnson be expelled from the Commons, had he not already quit as an MP.

During discussion of the report's final findings, the SNP's Allan Dorans and Labour's Yvonne Fovargue backed expulsion.

But the four Tory members of the committee - Sir Bernard Jenkin, Sir Charles Walker, Andy Carter and Alberto Costa - opposed the amendment.

The committee concluded that it would have recommended a 90-day suspension had Mr Johnson not already resigned as an MP. It has also recommended that he not be given a former MP’s pass to access the Parliamentary estate.

In full: Boris Johnson’s reaction to Partygate report

09:53 , Josh Salisbury

In his statement, Boris Johnson has called the committee “beneath contempt" and claimed its 14-month investigation had delivered “what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination".

He said it was a “dreadful day for MPs and democracy” and accuses the Labour chair of the committee, Harriet Harman, and other members of twisting the truth.

He said: “This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the Committee or its good faith.

“The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes. It is Harriet Harman and her Committee.”

Read the statement in full here.

Johnson allies defend him over damning Partygate report

10:00 , Josh Salisbury

Several allies of Boris Johnson have defended the former PM in the wake of the damning report.

Esther McVey, a former Cabinet minister and Conservative MP for Tatton, said the Committee’s recommendation that he be denied a pass allowing him access to the Parliamentary estate was “absolutely absurd and utterly unnecessary.”

Mr Johnson resigned as an MP last week after receiving a draft of the report. Former MPs are typically eligible for a pass to gain access to the Palace of Westminster.

Meanwhile, Tory MP for Bassetlaw Brendan Clarke-Smith said: “I am appalled at what I have read and the spiteful, vindictive and overreaching conclusions of the report.

“I won’t be supporting the recommendations and will be speaking against them both publicly and in the House on Monday. I’m backing fairness and justice - not kangaroo courts.”

Boris Johnson ‘treated public with disdain’, say Lib Dems

10:22 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson “treated the public with utter disdain”, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said.

In reaction to the report, Sir Ed tweeted: “Boris Johnson is a liar and law-breaker. He's treated the public with utter disdain.

“And while these Conservatives fight among themselves again, the country suffers. People are fed up. Rishi Sunak should call a General Election and give people the chance to end this charade.”

Downing Street was ‘oasis of normality’ during pandemic, No10 official says

10:34 , Josh Salisbury

The committee has also published a separate 13-page dossier of evidence in which a junior official in Number 10 said they felt it was clear that lockdown rules were not being followed in Downing Street during the pandemic.

The unnamed official said: “No. 10, despite setting the rules to the country, was slow to enforce any rules in the building.

“The press office Wine Time Fridays continued throughout, social distancing was not enforced ...This was all part of a wider culture of not adhering to any rules. No 10 was like an island oasis of normality”.

They added: “Birthday parties, leaving parties and end of week gatherings all continued as normal.”

Johnson ‘should never stand for office again’ say Covid bereaved

10:35 , Josh Salisbury

Boris Johnson “should never be allowed to stand for any form of public office again", a campaign group representing families bereaved in the pandemic has said.

David Garfinkel, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “This is another grim reminder that whilst families like mine were saying goodbye to our loved ones over Zoom, the same prime minister that failed us so badly in the first place was breaking his own rules so he could have a party and a laugh.

“Johnson has shown no remorse. Instead he lied to our faces when he told us that he'd done 'all he could' to protect our loved ones.

“He lied again when he said the rules hadn't been broken in Number 10, and he's lied ever since when he's denied it again and again.

“It's an utter tragedy that Johnson was in charge when the pandemic struck and he should never be allowed to stand for any form of public office again.”

Johnson suspension recommendation among longest since 1979

10:45 , Josh Salisbury

The Committee’s recommendation that Boris Johnson be suspended from Parliament for 90 days would have been the second-longest since at least 1979.

Mr Johnson quit his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat after seeing the report last week.

According to the House of Commons Library, the only longer suspension recommended since 1979 is six months for former MP Keith Vaz in 2009 for offering to buy drugs for sex workers.

Johnson allies claim report ‘overreached’

10:56 , Josh Salisbury

Several other Conservative MPs have publicly defended Boris Johnson over the finding he deliberately misled Parliament.

Tory MP Mark Jenkinson said that the Committee’s recommendation that Mr Johnson not be allowed access to the Parliamentary estate after his resignation was “gross overreach”.

He said: “The removal of a former members (sic) pass is nothing short of vindictive.”

Nadine Dorries, a staunch Johnson loyalist who has said she intends to resign as an MP amid a row over not getting a peerage, said: “This report has overreached and revealed it's true pre determined intentions. It's quite bizarre.”

She added: “Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow. It's serious.”

Labour tells Sunak to endorse Partygate report with Commons vote

10:59 , Josh Salisbury

Labour has urged Rishi Sunak to hold a vote to approve the Privilege Committee report finding Boris Johnson is a “lawbreaker and a liar", as well as its sanctions.

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: “The evidence in this report is damning and the conclusions the committee came to are clear: Boris Johnson is a lawbreaker and a liar.

“Rishi Sunak must now confirm the Government will follow precedent and give the House the opportunity to approve the report and endorse the sanctions in full.”

It has also called for Mr Johnson to repay the estimated £245,000 of taxpayer’s money spent on legal support during the investigation.

“Rishi Sunak is so out of touch he thought it was right that taxpayers’ hard-earned money fund Boris Johnson’s ongoing lies to the public,” said Ms Debbonaire. “Given the findings of the committee, Rishi Sunak should demand Boris Johnson pays back every penny.”

MPs will debate Partygate report on Monday

11:07 , Josh Salisbury

MPs will debate the Partygate report on Monday June 19, the Government has confirmed.

Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt told MPs the motion on the Privileges Committee report into the conduct of Boris Johnson will be “voteable, it will be amendable and it is House business and so I am expecting a free vote".

She added: “These are difficult matters for the House, we have to look at the evidence, we have to look at the report but we're talking about people who are friends and colleagues, it will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us, the task that we face on Monday.

“But all of us must do what we think is right and others must leave us alone to do so.”

Angela Rayner: Johnson ‘shouldn’t be anywhere near Parliament'

11:43 , Josh Salisbury

Labour’s Angela Rayner has expressed support for the Privileges Committee's suggestion of stripping Boris Johnson of his parliamentary pass.

Asked whether she thought that was going too far, the Labour deputy leader said: "No I don't because somebody like him should never have been prime minister because he's shown that he can't uphold the standards in public life...

“He's undermined his office and he's undermined the office of prime minister. He's a disgraced prime minister. He shouldn't be anywhere near Parliament."

No10 suggests Rishi Sunak has not read Partygate report

12:06 , Josh Salisbury

Downing Street suggested Rishi Sunak has not yet had chance to read the Privileges Committee’s report on Boris Johnson.

“I’m not aware he has,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said, adding that Mr Sunak had been with police on an immigration raid on Thursday morning.

The spokesman added: “This is the work of a parliamentary committee the House voted on to carry out their work.

“Its conclusions and recommendations are for the committee and its members have fulfilled their mandate from the House.

“In line with proper process it’s now for the House and MPs to consider its findings.”

Downing St: ‘No plans’ to cancel Boris Johnson’s ex-PM allowance

12:22 , Josh Salisbury

Downing Street has brushed off a Liberal Democrat call for Boris Johnson to be stripped of his funding to continue running an office as a former Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said: “I'm not aware of any plans to do that.

“These arrangements are fairly long-standing - it's not a personal salary or allowance, it's the reimbursement of expenses for office and secretarial costs."

No 10 also rejected suggestions that Mr Johnson's resignation honours list should be rescinded and said there were “no plans" to recoup the cost of Mr Johnson's publicly-funded legal fees.

Rees-Mogg accuses Privileges Committee of ‘trying to damage Boris Johnson'

12:51 , Josh Salisbury

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the Privileges Committee of "deliberately trying to do damage to Boris Johnson".

The former cabinet minister, an arch-supporter of the former prime minister who was knighted in Mr Johnson's resignation honours, told Sky News: “I think they have come to conclusions that are not fully supported by the evidence.

“I think their fundamental judgment is wrong because I don't think he deliberately misled Parliament."

Sir Jacob also renewed his criticism of committee chairwoman Harriet Harman, saying she was “not the right person" to lead the inquiry because “she had publicly tweeted her criticisms and her disbelief in Boris Johnson".

He also called the 90-day suspension recommendation “extraordinary,” saying: “I think it shows that the report is deliberately trying to do damage to Boris Johnson."

Partygate report: No10 was ‘oasis of normality’ as ‘wine time Fridays’ parties continued in lockdown

13:24 , Bill Mcloughlin

No10 was an “oasis of normality” during the pandemic with parties and social drinks continuing as normal, witnesses told MPs investigating whether Boris Johnson lied to Parliament over Partygate, writes Rachael Burford, political correspondent

The Privileges Committee on Thursday released its damming report which found the former Prime Minister had deliberately and repeatedly misled the Commons over lockdown gatherings in Downing Street.

Birthday parties, leaving drinks and end of week socials all “continued as normal” and staff were told to watch out for cameras, a witness told the committee.

They felt it was clear that lockdown rules were not being followed during the pandemic and “Wine Time Fridays” in the press office did not stop even when the Government imposed strict measures on gatherings.

“No10, despite setting the rules to the country, was slow to enforce any rules in the building,” the report states.

Read our story here.

Key findings from Privileges Committee report that found Boris Johnson misled Parliament

13:37 , Bill Mcloughlin

Boris Johnson released a stinging statement in response to the damning Partygate report.

“In order to reach this deranged conclusion, the committee is obliged to say a series of things that are patently absurd, or contradicted by the facts,” he said.

Away from Mr Johnson’s own assessment of the report, the Evening Standard has put together the key findings from the Privileges Committee.

Read our story here.

Boris Johnson ‘betrayed the people of the UK’, says SNP

13:54 , Bill Mcloughlin

Scotland's First Minister has accused Boris Johnson of "betraying the people of the UK" after the release of a report which found he knowingly misled MPs over Partygate.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Humza Yousaf attacked Tory leader Douglas Ross who was pressing him on the delayed project to dual the A9.

Mr Yousaf said: "This is desperate stuff from Douglas Ross, who is trying to dodge, no doubt deflect of course, from the serious scandal his party is engulfed in.

"With Boris Johnson not just lying to the House of Commons, but betraying the people of this country and of the UK.

"When they couldn't visit a loved one, when they couldn't attend funerals of loved ones, Boris Johnson was breaking the rules and having parties in No10.

"Douglas Ross can try to deflect, he can try to dodge, but of course nobody in this country can forget that Douglas Ross backed Boris Johnson to the very hilt."

Former minister hits back at committee criticism

14:05 , Bill Mcloughlin

Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland, who served in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet, said the Privileges Committee report is “fair” and “phrases like ‘kangaroo court’ help nobody”.

Sir Robert, who served in Boris Johnson's government, also said allegations about potential rule-breaking by Sir Bernard Jenkin, a committee member, are "irrelevant" to the test the MPs were applying in their investigation.

"The conduct of members towards the committee is a relevant consideration for that committee and it will often either make a bad situation worse or, if the member is co-operative, be a mitigating factor that the committee bears in mind," he told BBC Radio 4's World At One.

"And here I'm afraid it looks like the committee really were deeply unimpressed.”

He added: "I think phrases like 'kangaroo court' help nobody."

Asked about Sir Bernard, Sir Robert replied: "Whatever Sir Bernard did or didn't do is irrelevant to the test the committee is applying: did Boris Johnson mislead the House and if so was it intentional?"

‘History will look more kindly on Boris Johnson,’ claims ally

14:30 , Josh Salisbury

More allies of Boris Johnson have come forward to criticise the committee’s report.

Among them is Conservative MP Sir James Duddridge, who has insisted that history will look favourable on Mr Johnson.

The MP for Rochford and Southend East tweeted: “Why not go the full way, put Boris, in the stocks and providing rotten food to throw rotten food at him.

“Moving him around the marginals, so the country could share in the humiliation.

“History will hold Boris in higher regard than this committee. I thank him for his service.”

Scotland’s First Minister says Boris Johnson ‘betrayed people of UK'

14:41 , Josh Salisbury

Scotland’s First Minister has accused Boris Johnson of “betraying the people of the UK” after the release of the Partygate report.

Humza Yousaf sought to use the committee’s findings as ammunition to attack the Scottish Conservatives’ leader Douglas Ross during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.

He said: “When they couldn’t visit a loved one, when they couldn’t attend funerals of loved ones, Boris Johnson was breaking the rules and having parties in Number 10.

“Douglas Ross can try to deflect, he can try to dodge, but of course nobody in this country can forget that Douglas Ross backed Boris Johnson to the very hilt.”

Mr Ross was criticised for his shifting position on the former prime minister, after he was one of the first senior members of the party to call for him to quit over partygate before walking back the call because of the invasion of Ukraine.

He eventually voted against Mr Johnson in a confidence vote last June, which precipitated his leaving office the following month.

Two by-elections set for July 20

15:26 , Josh Salisbury

The by-election for Boris Johnson’s seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip will be held on July 20. The contest was triggered after Mr Johnson’s resignation as an MP upon receiving a draft of the Partygate report last Friday.

A by-election will also be held in Selby and Ainsty on the same date after the resignation of Conservative MP Nigel Adams.

A third by-election will be held in Nadine Dorries’ seat of Mid Bedfordshire, after the MP announced her intention to stand down.

However, this has not yet been fixed because Ms Dorries has vowed she will not yet formally resign amid an ongoing row with No10 over her lack of inclusion on Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

The by-elections will be seen as a major test of Rishi Sunak’s grip on power.

The Tories must now defend Mr Johnson’s seat, which has a majority of 7,210, alongside the normally safe seats of Selby and Ainsty, which has a majority of 20,137, and Mid Bedfordshire, which has a majority of 24,664.

Half say Boris Johnson’s political career over - snap poll

16:12 , Josh Salisbury

Nearly half of respondents in a snap poll say Boris Johnson’s political career is over in the wake of the Partygate report.

Some 47% of 1,069 UK adults polled by Savanta after the report was released on Thursday morning said they believed Mr Johnson’s career was finished.

However, 40% said it was not over and 13% said they did not know.

Among Conservative voters in 2019, 54% said it was not over, while 35% said it was and 10% said they did not know.

No10 declines to say whether PM will vote on Partygate report

16:27 , Josh Salisbury

A Downing Street spokesperson has declined to say whether Rishi Sunak will take part in the vote on the Boris Johnson Partygate report on Monday.

A No10 spokesperson told reporters: “He hasn't yet had time to fully consider the report. He intends to take the time to fully consider the report."

The spokesman declined to say whether the Prime Minister will participate in the Commons vote on the committee's findings on Monday, saying: "We will set out the PM's activity for next week on Monday."

Mayor of London says Boris Johnson ‘is a liar’

17:08 , Miriam Burrell

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said Boris Johnson “is a liar”.

“It’s there in black and white,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Now Johnson has left Parliament, it’s time to show the Tories the door in Uxbridge and South Ruislip too.

“Londoners and the whole country deserve so much better.”

What happens next?

17:14 , Miriam Burrell

MPs will hold a vote on Monday - the same date as Boris Johnson’s 59th birthday - on whether to endorse the Privileges Committee’s findings.

If approved, Mr Johnson will be denied the parliamentary pass he would normally be expected to receive as a former MP.

MPs will be able to table amendments to the motion, although it will be up to the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to decide if they can be voted on.

MPs are expected to have a free vote, which is likely to expose rifts between Tory MPs who back the former prime minister and those who want to see him being sanctioned.

Blue-on-blue sniping has already begun

17:48 , Miriam Burrell

Ahead of Monday’s vote, Boris Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries has for Tories who vote against Mr Johnson to be kicked out of the party.

Another close ally of Mr Johnson, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the Commons will “inevitably” vote in favour of the Privileges Committee report.

Penny Mordaunt said the motion will “ask the House to approve” the report and will be amendable.

Avoiding the vote could be convenient for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak if he does not want to anger the Tory party membership.

Other Tory MPs could also choose to abstain, as they have been told the vote will be a one-line whip, meaning they will not be obliged to participate.

Labour should make standards an issue at next election, senior MP says

18:41 , Miriam Burrell

Labour should make standards in public life an issue at the next election, a senior MP has said.

Commons Standards Committee chair Sir Chris Bryant suggested standards had deteriorated and would be an electoral issue.

He said: “You could say that there is nothing new under the sun, but I’m not so sure. I suspect we have a rum lot in this Parliament.”

“But I think the big thing that is different in this Parliament is what I call the Mogg tendency. That’s the ‘Oh really, does this matter? The people in the Dog and Duck, they’re not talking about this stuff’, and I think that that is profoundly dangerous because it’s effectively a free pass for bad behaviour.”

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a strong ally of Mr Johnson, is one of a number of Tory MPs who have criticised the findings of the Privileges Committee investigation into the former prime minister.

20:01 , Matt Watts

That concludes our live coverage of the day’s events. Thank you for joining us.