British lawmakers have overwhelmingly voted to back a damning report that found Boris Johnson lied to the UK parliament over partygate, as Rishi Sunak stayed away from proceedings.
Just seven MPs voted against the Privileges Committee’s findings, in a humiliating turn of events for the former prime minister.
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 parliament that Covid rules were obeyed in No 10 despite parties taking place.
After several hours of debate on Mr Johnson’s conduct, Labour forced a vote on the motion, with the opposition providing tellers for both the ayes and noes.
The British prime minister had been accused of “running scared” for refusing to take part in the vote, but insisted he did not want to “influence” how MPs might vote.
