In recent days, there has been a concerted effort by supporters of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to have the Privileges Committee inquiry into his conduct brought to an end. It is argued that, as he has announced that he will step down, continuing the investigation would be vengeful and vindictive. Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has described the inquiry as a “witch hunt” and said that to continue it would be an “abuse of power“, while Zac Goldsmith, the minister of state for the Pacific and the international environment, described it as “rigged” and an “obscene abuse of power”.
At first glance discontinuing the inquiry might sound reasonable. The Prime Minister was subject to a punishment for partygate (albeit a very modest fixed-penalty-notice) and the parties at No 10 no doubt seem trivial to many people, particularly as now the country is facing a cost-of-living crisis. Now might seem like a good time to simply draw a line under the affair. However, such a verdict would be premature and there are a number of reasons to reach this conclusion.
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