READING WEST MP Alok Sharma has come out in favour of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the candidate he would like to see replace Liz Truss.
Ms Truss replaced Mr Johnson last month. She resigned on Thursday, October 20, after confidence in her six-week premiership collapsed.
Mr Johnson had been forced to resign after more than 50 MPs resigned in a 24-hour period, after he declined to take action over MP Chris Pincher, who was alleged to have inappropriately touched two men in a private members’ club.
It was the final straw for the MPs who had had to defend Mr Johnson over the partygate scandal, among others.
A report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, published in May, found repeated instances of Downing Street staff breaching covid restrictions and rules, and that Mr Johnson should have clamped down on the many parties that took place.
She also found Mr Johnson’s team undertook Wine Time Fridays, where they would drink from 4pm, that there was a wine fridge, a suitcase used to stock up with alcohol from a local supermarket, and that some staff drank excessively.
Mr Johnson was also fined for attending a party for his birthday, on June 19, 2020.
However, Mr Sharma, who is COP26 minister, has been a supporter of Mr Johnson.
On June 6, the day of a confidence vote into Mr Johnson’s premiership, Mr Sharma tweeted: “@BorisJohnson has my full support & I urge @Conservatives MPs to vote for him today. He delivered a historic win in 2019, has provided strong leadership through the pandemic supporting jobs & businesses and is leading the international response on Ukraine #BackBoris”
@BorisJohnson has my full support & I urge @Conservatives MPs to vote for him today
He delivered a historic win in 2019, has provided strong leadership through the pandemic supporting jobs & businesses and is leading the international response on Ukraine#BackBoris
— Sir Alok Sharma (@AlokSharma_RDG) June 6, 2022
Mr Johnson won that, and Mr Sharma then tweeted a further message of support.
Now he has tweeted that he would back Mr Johnson in the leadership contest.
“I am backing @BorisJohnson – he won a mandate from the electorate in 2019
“We need to get back to delivering on the @conservatives manifesto we were elected on”.
I am backing @BorisJohnson – he won a mandate from the electorate in 2019
We need to get back to delivering on the @conservatives manifesto we were elected on
— Sir Alok Sharma (@AlokSharma_RDG) October 21, 2022
Although Parliament is currently sitting, Mr Johnson is on holiday and said to be flying back to the UK.
Mr Johnson is currently under investigation by the House of Commons Privileges Committee over whether he deliberately misled parliament over statements made over breaches of lockdown rules in Downing Street.
This is a separate investigation to the Metropolitan Police one which saw Johnson fined, and Sue Gray’s report.
If found guilty, Mr Johnson could be suspended from Parliament for up to 10 days. If this happens, it would trigger a recall petition and Johnson would be expected to resign.
It is not the only controversy that Mr Johnson has found himself under.
In 2019, he prorogued (suspended) parliament for five weeks, something that the Supreme Court ruled was unlawful.
And there was also an issue over how the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat was paid for, with wallpaper costing £840 per roll.
The Conservatives were fined £18,000 for not registering the sums correctly.
