In a short-tempered testimony lasting more than three hours, Mr Johnson insisted there was not a “shred of evidence” to show he lied to MPs and said it would have been “utterly insane” for him to have done so.īut senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin questioned why Mr Johnson failed to take “proper advice” on Covid guidance before claiming in parliament it had been followed “completely”.Īnd it emerged the then PM had been warned against making his infamous remarks in the Commons. The former prime minister is struggling to revive his political career after the cross-party committee investigating his Partygate denials denounced them as “flimsy”. Meanwhile, another senior Tory, Caroline Nokes, said Mr Johnson’s attempt at a political comeback was “finished” after his torrid grilling by MPs at the televised inquiry hearing on Wednesday. There’s no question the party would face defeat to Labour.” He said: “Although the position for the Conservatives is improving, under current circumstances the Tories would lose a by-election in Uxbridge. He also warned the former prime minister would lose his Uxbridge and Ruislip seat if he is punished severely by the cross-party inquiry into Partygate and forced to face a by-election in the months ahead. Is it over? No, it’s not over, but it’s striking that in September 100 names signed his nomination form, and the number who are declared Boris backers has been dropping and dropping.” He told The Independent: “His support is clearly diminished. “There’s a very big message there,” he said. Tory peer and polling guru Lord Hayward said it was “striking” how few Tory MPs joined with Mr Johnson to oppose Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit deal. All but a small handful have turned the page.” The rebellion was disappointing, but for some it was causing trouble for trouble’s sake. Simon Hoare, the chair of the NI select committee, said: “In a short period Rishi Sunak has achieved something the other two prime ministers found out of reach. He predicted that could recover “slightly”, but estimated that it could rise to “40 max”. One senior Tory MP told The Independent that the Partygate inquiry and the Brexit vote were the “death throes of Boris cult”, saying the “dying rump” of around 20 to 30 loyalists left would not be able to rebuild support for him in the parliamentary party.Ī former Conservative minister put Mr Johnson's support among MPs at around 25. In the end, just 22 Tory MPs rebelled against the deal, designed to end the row over the Northern Ireland protocol. He also failed to lead a successful Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit agreement, which passed the Commons by a huge majority of 486. The former prime minister was forced to plead “hand on heart” that he had not lied to MPs over the Partygate scandal. This week’s double parliamentary humiliation marked the “death throes” of the Boris Johnson “cult” with only a rump of loyalists now supporting him, Tory MPs have said.

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