Ministers threaten to oust Lewis from security role
A CABINET minister has refused to rule out an attempt by the Government to oust Julian Lewis as chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security committee (ISC).
Mr Lewis lost the Conservative Party whip after running against the Government’s preferred candidate, Chris Grayling, to lead the ISC, which scrutinises the security services.
Asked whether he would rule out bringing a motion to Parliament to remove Mr Lewis, Jacob Rees-mogg declined to do so and said the MP had been “playing ducks and drakes with the Labour Party”. It came as the Government said leaked documents used by Jeremy Corbyn, the then Labour leader, during the 2019 election campaign were almost certainly “amplified” online by “Russian actors”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said that it was “nonsense” to suggest the timing of the disclosures was intended to pre-empt the ISC’S report on Russian interference in British politics.
At the first meeting of the newly formed ISC, it agreed to release the report, which has been delayed since October, at the start of next week.
In a written Commons statement, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, said: “On the basis of extensive analysis, the Government has concluded that it is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 general election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked government documents.
“Sensitive Government documents relating to the UK-US free trade agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 general election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit. When these gained no traction, further attempts were made to promote the illicitly acquired material online in the run-up to the general election.”
The leaked papers discussing UK-US trade discussions emerged last year and were used by Mr Corbyn to accuse the Government of plans to include the NHS in a future trade deal with the US.
Mr Raab said that there was an “ongoing criminal investigation” into how the documents had been obtained.
Explaining the timing of Mr Raab’s statement, government sources said it was necessary to wait until the ISC was formed and update it before putting the information in the public domain.
Mr Lewis said the request for him to vote for Mr Grayling was “improper” given the vote was independent of the Government and that No 10 had publicly denied wanting to “parachute a preferred candidate into the chair”.
“It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the Government’s preferred candidate,” he added.
Mr Johnson faces a mounting backlash from Conservatives over his treatment of Mr Lewis, who has served as an MP for 23 years. Peter Bone, a Tory MP, yesterday accused No 10 of having a “huge hissy fit” over the matter.
Allies of Mr Lewis fear No 10 may try to oust him as chairman of the ISC in retribution for him winning the post with the help of Opposition MPS.
John Bercow, the former Commons speaker, said the Government had “no business interfering” in the selection of the intelligence committee chairman.
‘It is strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the preferred candidate of the Government’