Hoyle forced to miss jubilee tribute as ‘punishment’ over partygate

THE Conservatives have been accused of punishing Sir Lindsay Hoyle over partygate by forcing him to miss jubilee tributes to the Queen.

Tory whips are said to be furious that the Commons Speaker allowed a vote among MPS on whether to refer Boris Johnson to Parliament’s privileges committee.

The committee will rule on whether the Prime Minister knowingly misled

MPS, which could increase pressure from Conservatives for him to resign.

Last week Chris Heaton-harris, the Chief Whip, refused to change the scheduled date for the Commons “humble address” to the Queen to allow Sir Lindsay to travel to the Falklands to commemorate the Battle of Goose Green.

Sir Lindsay was forced to choose between the events and decided to go ahead with the Falklands trip, leaving his deputy, Dame Eleanor Laing, to read the traditional Speaker’s humble address in his place. An address is traditionally given on a jubilee by the Commons and Lords Speakers on behalf of both Houses of Parliament, and last took place at the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Mr Heaton-harris is understood to have argued that the date had already been announced by the Government, so MPS could offer their tributes to the Queen on the last sitting day of Parliament before the week’s recess that precedes the jubilee weekend.

But sources close to Sir Lindsay said the date for his trip could only be confirmed close to the time because of the Falklands’ Covid restrictions, and that he was “frustrated” the Government had not allowed him to attend both events.

He is said to have prioritised the foreign trip – which involved an 18-hour flight on an RAF jet – because of his love of Britain’s overseas territories.

One MP familiar with the spat said Mr Heaton-harris had been angry that Sir Lindsay had allowed the privileges committee vote last month.

They said: “I think it’s an indication of a sad state of affairs if the Chief Whip is threatening Lindsay Hoyle, who, let’s face it, is not exactly John Bercow is he? The Speaker felt that it was deliberate. Clearly there is now bad blood between the government whips’ office and the Speaker, but on the whole he’s pretty fair minded.”

The row comes after the Government endured months of acrimony with John Bercow, the Speaker during the Brexit process. In January 2019, Mr Bercow was accused of bias by Tory MPS after he allowed a vote to force a three-day “Plan B” deadline on Theresa May’s Brexit deal. On Sunday Sir Lindsay shared photographs of him at a service to mark the Battle of Goose Green.

The battle, which took place in May 1982, led to the deaths of 18 British troops, including Lt Col “H” Jones.

A government source said: “Government business is announced well in advance.

“The Government was keen to ensure that the whole of Parliament had the opportunity to pay tribute to the Queen in the week before the country as a whole celebrates the Jubilee.”