Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg among eight named in privileges committee special report on partygate probe

The privileges committee’s special report on “sustained interference” into the partygate probe names seven MPs and one peer, accusing them of “improper pressure”.

Nadine Dorries is named four times and Mark Jenkinson, Michael Fabricant, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Jenkyns, Priti Patel and Zac Goldsmith are all also cited in the report for criticising the investigation.

They have been accused of using “unprecedented and co-ordinated pressure”, which “had significant personal impact on individual members and raised significant security concerns”.

The committee suggested that MPs agree a resolution noting and approving the special report.

It has not suggested sanctions, saying It will be for the House of Commons “to consider what further action, if any, to take” in respect of those named.

Politics live: Report attacks ‘co-ordinated campaign of interference’ in Boris Johnson partygate probe

However, Mr Johnson’s allies remained defiant with one telling Sky News: “I shall wear it as a badge of honour.

“It’s my job as a Member of Parliament to scrutinise and comment on matters such as this. We are going down a dangerous path once we start restricting people’s ability to do this”

And in a tweet Michael Fabricant hit back: “Respect for the Committee needs to be earned.”

Mr Jenkinson said: “On publication of the previous report I said it had overreached. Prior to publication I had not referred to the committee.

“Yet in another perfect example of gross overreach, the committee use a tweet that did not refer to them and was about the media witch hunt of Boris Johnson.”

Former prime minister Mr Johnson sensationally quit his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat after the privileges committee found he had deliberately misled the House with his partygate denials.

In the run-up to the report, allies of the ex-PM had labelled the committee a “kangaroo court”, criticised the members, and accused them of bias – in particular, the Labour chair of the committee Harriet Harman.

In its findings, the committee wrote that they were “concerned” that should those “behaviours go unchallenged”, such an inquiry would be “impossible” in future.

They said they would be preparing a “special report” on those behaviours, writing: “The House must have a committee to defend its rights and privileges, and it must protect members of the House doing that duty from formal or informal attack or undermining designed to deter and prevent them from doing that duty.”

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