MP for South Essex withdraws support for Prime Minister
A South Essex MP has withdrawn his support for the Prime Minister, saying Boris Johnson’s account was no longer credible.
John Baron Tory MP for Basildon and Billericay says he can no longer support the Prime Minister in the middle of the party door.
It comes as an official inquiry said the ‘senior leadership’ of Mr Johnson’s government must ‘take responsibility’ for the culture that led to coronavirus lockdown rules are broken.
Senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report said the public would be “appalled” by a series of coronavirus rule breaches at No 10 and Westminster.
Mr Baron said: “The Sue Gray report and Metropolitan Police investigations outline a shameful pattern of misconduct during the pandemic as the rest of us comply with covid regulations. Rule-makers have a special duty to abide by them.
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“However, for me, the most serious accusation against the Prime Minister is that of knowingly misleading Parliament. Given the scale of the rule breaches in Number 10, I cannot accept that the Prime Minister was unaware. Therefore, his repeated assurances to Parliament that there had been no breach of the rules are simply not credible.
“To some this may seem like a trivial point given world events. Yet a fundamental principle of our constitution is that we can be sure that the answers we receive in Parliament are truthful and accurate. Parliament is the beating heart of our country. Knowingly misleading him cannot be tolerated, no matter what the issue. Whether or not the Prime Minister is an asset to the party or the country matters less.
“Having always said that I would consider all available evidence before deciding, I fear the Prime Minister no longer enjoys my support – I can no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.”
