The world has moved on from former British prime minister Boris Johnson, a UK cabinet minister said on Sunday.
Mr Johnson quit Westminster on Friday as he made a fierce attack on the Commons Privileges Committee investigation into whether he misled MPs with his assurances over parties held in Downing Street during coronavirus lockdowns.
In a 1,000-word statement, he said the seven-person panel, which is chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Conservative majority, was on a “witch hunt” and compared it with a “kangaroo court”.
Mr Johnson said he was “bewildered and appalled” at being “forced out, antidemocratically” by an investigation that he claimed had set out from the beginning to “find me guilty, regardless of the facts”.
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Speaking on Sky News, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said Mr Johnson had removed himself from political life by resigning as an MP.
“He has decided to step down and a couple of my other colleagues, all of them whom I’ve worked with and Boris in particular, I liked working with him as prime minister.
“But ... the world has moved on. He is the one who has removed himself from the current political scene, standing down as a member of parliament. We’ve got excellent leadership in place in No 10 with Rishi Sunak,” Mr Shapps said.
Speaking on the BBC, Mr Shapps aid the Conservatives and those outside the party do not miss the “drama” that came with Mr Johnson’s leadership.
The minister added he had “no reason” to think the privileges committee inquiry was akin to a “kangaroo court”, as suggested by Mr Johnson in his MP resignation statement.
Labour has accused Mr Johnson of acting like a “baby-man” with the way he reacted to the yet-to-be-published committee’s conclusion to its partygate investigation.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “The committee has a Conservative majority. Also, the committee’s verdict isn’t the last word.
“It then goes to Parliament, where the Tories are sitting on a majority of around 66 seats – at least it was on Friday before they all started resigning. Even then, it just triggers a recall petition where he could face the voters.
“But the truth is he didn’t want to face any of the verdicts because he can never accept responsibility for his own actions,” Mr McFadden said.
“That’s true of all these right-wing populist leaders. They are like baby men. Whenever anything goes wrong, it is everybody else’s fault.”
Mr Johnson denied lying to MPs and said he “corrected the record as soon as possible” after receiving information about lockdown gatherings in No 10.
Three quick-fire Tory resignations in 24 hours have left UK prime minister Mr Sunak facing by-election battles on multiple fronts.
Nigel Adams on Saturday became the latest Conservative MP announce he would be quitting as an MP with “immediate effect”.
An ally of Mr Johnson, he followed the former prime minister and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries in departing the Commons.
Mr Adams and Ms Dorries had been tipped for peerages in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours but neither featured in the published list. – PA