Rishi Sunak has finally criticised Boris Johnson for lying to MPs about partygate. Sort of.
The prime minister – who body-swerved Monday night’s vote on the privileges committee’s report into the former PM’s behaviour – said it was right “that people ... are held accountable for their actions”.
But he stopped short of saying he supported the committee’s findings - or the overwhelming majority of MPs who backed their report.
And he said it was now time for the country to move on from Johnson and “focus on the future”.
Sunak had previously refused to give any view on the privileges committee’s verdict that Johnson had repeatedly misled parliament over what he knew about lockdown-busting parties during the pandemic.
Johnson himself dramatically quit as an MP after seeing an early draft of the report.
Speaking at an IKEA warehouse in Kent, he said: “I have enormous respect for the privileges committee, support the privileges committee and indeed respect the vote of the House that we had on Monday regarding Boris Johnson.
“But what I’d also say is I’m not focused on the past, I want to look forward.
“Boris Johnson is no longer an member of parliament, it’s right that people - whoever they are whatever position they hold - face the results of their actions and are held accountable for their actions.
“That’s happened, he’s no longer a member of parliament, we’ve got to focus on the future. That’s what I’m doing as your prime minister.”
Sunak has also faced criticism for missing Monday night’s vote.
But he insisted he was attending a charity dinner at the time so could not be in parliament.