Priti Patel and Rees-Mogg rally behind Boris with attack on Remainer stitch-up

Dominic Grieve says he hopes Boris Johnson is ‘gone for good’

Priti Patel has warned that the attacks on Boris Johnson are attacks on Brexit, freedom of speech and conservative values as the fallout from the Privileges Committee report continues to explode in Parliament.

The former Home Secretary was joined by another senior Boris Johnson ally and ex-cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg in questioning the validity of the report.

Mr Rees-Mogg said that a previous case in the House of Lords when a committee withdrew its findings because “of the appearance of a lack of impartiality” should mean that the report is binned.

But Ms Patel’s comments underlined the fury many supporters of Mr Johnson among Tory MPs feel for the conclusions of the committee chaired by Ms Harman.

Just as Mr Johnson did last week when he announced he was quitting as an MP, Ms Patel linked the investigation with a desire to attack Brexit.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Ms Patel said: “Boris Johnson delivered the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher, won widespread support from parts of Britain that had never voted Conservative before and got Brexit done, oversaw the successful Covid vaccine programme, and led the world in supporting Ukraine against Putin’s aggression.

“He had a mandate to govern and has been a powerful force for the cause of freedom and Conservative values, including freedom of speech. With his record and achievements, it is not surprising that there are people taking opportunities available to them to seek to discredit Boris and his record.

“People will reach their own conclusions and hold their own views about the Privileges Committee report and its analysis and conclusions, but our country is a better place to live and the world is stronger in its resolve to defend our values and freedoms because of the leadership Boris provided.”

Ms Patel has become a leading critic of the current Tory leadership and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

She has fronted up the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) of grassroots members who were very critical of Mr Johnson’s removal last year.

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Meanwhile, Mr Rees-Mogg has said that the “appearance of a lack of impartiality” should make the report by the Privileges Committee null and void.

Mr Rees-Mogg is particularly concerned about historic tweets against Mr Johnson by the committee chair Ms Harman.

He said: “My biggest objection to this whole report is that it looks like it was not impartial.”

He described the proposed 90-day ban as “obviously vindictive.”

“They went too far,” he added.

He pointed out that a precedent was set by the House of Lords Judicial Committee which withdrew findings on an issue because Lord Hoffman’s wife sat on the board of Amnesty International which gave the impression of bias.

He also pointed out that there is precedent for removing findings against an MP with the Parliament striking from the record findings against the Radical MP John Wilkes in the 18th century.

A Red Wall ally, Tory MP for Dudley North Marco Longhi said: “Any fair-minded person, even those who might be against Boris, will not comprehend these sanctions.

“What is also beyond comprehension is how the chair of the committee would be allowed to continue in her role having openly pre-judged Boris before the committee heard any evidence.

“The country, the Party and I want to move on from this saga and focus on the challenges we face and deliver better outcomes for all.”

Meanwhile, another ally Lord Jackson told BBC that the Privileges Committee was “a sham trial”.

Express.co.uk has learnt that at least one current Cabinet Minister will vote against the report as Tory MPs split on it.

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