Allies fear they lack votes to save Johnson

Former PM’s supporters say he has significant backing but attack Sunak for giving MPs a free vote

BORIS JOHNSON’s allies fear they lack the Commons votes to save him from being kicked out of Parliament by the privileges committee.

Last week, the former prime minister endured a bruising appearance in front of the committee, which will now rule on whether he “knowingly or recklessly” misled MPs over what he knew about Covid parties in Downing Street.

It could recommend a suspension of more than 10 days which, if ratified by the Commons, would trigger a recall petition and could lead to a by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Rishi Sunak has said Tory MPs will have a free vote on the committee’s report, meaning Mr Johnson’s fate will be in his colleagues’ hands.

A senior back-bench ally of the former prime minister said yesterday he would be backed by a “significant number” of Tory MPs, with “up to 40, maybe a bit more” voting to protect him. But that would fall far short of the hundreds he would need to save him.

The ally accused No 10 of “vitriol and poison” towards Mr Johnson, and said Mr Sunak had made a mistake in refusing to whip MPs to defend him.

“A vote like that is going to go down very badly with the party outside of Westminster,” they said.

Granting a free vote had given a “get out of jail card” to ministers and backbench MPs who had already “knifed” Mr Johnson last summer, they added.

“I think it should be a three-line whip. With that, people have to be accountable for their decisions and choices rather than hiding,” they said.

In a further dig at Mr Sunak, the Johnson ally accused the Prime Minister of “coasting off the back” of Mr Johnson’s 2019 election victory.

There is growing concern about Mr Johnson’s political future among his supporters. Lord Hayward, a Tory peer and pollster, said his ambitions had been dealt a blow by his committee appearance and unsuccessful attempt to lead a Commons revolt against Mr Sunak’s Brexit deal.

However, allies may get an opportunity to rehabilitate Mr Johnson when the Conservative Democratic Organisation – a pressure group packed with Johnson supporters – holds its inaugural conference on May 13.

Crucially, it comes a week after local elections, which are predicted to be challenging for Mr Sunak.

David Campbell-Bannerman, the chairman of the CDO, told The Sunday Telegraph that if the results were poor and there was no sign of change, MPs could panic and the Prime Minister would face a “reckoning” from activists.

He added: “CDO is not a bring back Boris campaign. We are about party reform. But the point we make is that if you put members back in charge, then if they want Boris as leader then you have to respect that.”

A source close to Mr Johnson said: “We respect the privileges committee and are waiting for them to come to their conclusions. When they bring those forward we will study them with care.”