The vote fell 354–7. A total of 118 Conservatives voted in support of the report’s conclusions, while 225 MPs were absent, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The consequence will be that Boris Johnson will be removed from parliament – he will no longer have free access to the Westminster parliament building in London – something that usually applies to former British MPs.
Breached pandemic rules
If Boris Johnson had not resigned as an MEP earlier this month, he would also have been suspended for 90 days. The resignation came after the committee investigation concluded that statements he made to parliament about a series of gatherings that breached pandemic rules were misleading.
Johnson himself has always vigorously denied that he would have lied about the pandemic parties and has called the committee investigation a “sham trial”.
Sunak absent
The fact that the Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was not present during the vote is noted in several British media. Earlier in the day, Sunak met Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).
Labor leader Keir Starmer, who calls Johnson’s behavior “unacceptable”, earlier called on Sunak to show his leadership by taking part in Monday’s vote.