Boris Johnson will be investigated by the Committee of Privileges for contempt of Parliament in one the lowest moments of his premiership to date.
MPs voted for Labour’s motion, without any opposition from Tory backbenchers, to decipher whether the Prime Minister lied in the Chamber over his understanding of Partygate.
Support for the proposal was unanimous to the point where Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans did not even call for a formal division window and passed the motion with verbal acclamation.
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It comes after Downing Street scrapped its amendment to delay the parliamentary perusal and announced that MPs would not be forced into a three-line whip.
The committee will now agree on a process to establish whether the PM deliberately misled the House and may even ask those close to Johnson for private or photographic evidence. If the PM is found guilty, the committee could recommend sanctions.
These can range from anything from a simple apology to a suspension or even stripped of his status as an MP, although members will have the final say when it is put to the Commons.
The process will begin once civil servant Sue Gray publishes her “full” report and Scotland Yard hands out the last of its fixed-penalty notices.
This latest probe into lockdown-breaking parties will be Johnson’s third in four months, along with Gray’s internal inquiry and the Metropolitan Police’s criminal investigation “Operation Hillman”.
The PM is 4,000-miles away in India on an official state visit, but is finding it impossible to run away from his ongoing Partygate problems.
