A Tory MP has questioned MP Harriet Harman’s impartiality ahead of Boris Johnson’s privileges committee hearing into whether he misled parliament over the partygate scandal.
As chair of the privileges committee, Harriet Harman will oversee a broadcasted meeting where a cross-party panel will grill the former MP over whether he lied to parliament on Wednesday, March 22.
But Tory MP Conor Burns has highlighted a tweet Harman posted in April 2022, suggesting it could mean Harriet Harman is unfit to lead the inquiry “with integrity”.
She tweeted: “If u get covid regs FPN u can either admit guilt or go to ct to challenge it. If PM and CX [Rishi Sunak] admit guilt, accepting that police right that they breached regs,then they are also admitting that they misled the House of Commons. Or are they going to challenge?”
If u get covid regs FPN u can either admit guilt or go to ct to challenge it. If PM and CX admit guilt, accepting that police right that they breached regs,then they are also admitting that they misled the House of Commons. Or are they going to challenge? https://t.co/jtk8bjj9mo
— Harriet Harman (@HarrietHarman) April 12, 2022
The MP for Camberwell and Peckham was referring to the fine Johnson received, and paid, for breaching covid lockdown rules.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Bournemouth West MP, Conor Burns, who served as a minister under Johnson, said: “I rate Harriet Harman highly, but she did tweet in April 2022 that if [Johnson and Sunak] admit guilt, by which she said was accepting a fixed-penalty notice, then they are also admitting that they misled the House of Commons.
“Boris Johnson contests that, but it seems to me the person who is chairing this committee has predetermined it and that causes me a degree of anxiety for parliament’s reputation in handling this with integrity.”
According to the Independent, Tory MPs Sir Robert Buckland and Michael Ellis have also previously questioned Harman’s suitability for the role.
A spokesperson for the committee told the News: “The House of Commons as a whole approved a motion to appoint Harriet Harman to the Committee. The other six Members of the Committee, which has a Government party majority, then elected Harriet Harman as Chair unanimously.”
Harriet Harman was approached for comment and this paper’s request was forwarded to the privileges committee.