Partygate: Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer can table a motion for debate on Thursday

House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay said he had received letters from a number of MPs on the issue.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, among the letter-writers, requested Sir Lindsay give precedence to consider statements made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the Commons on gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the Covid lockdown.

He said: “It is not for me to police the ministerial code, I have no jurisdiction over the ministerial code even though a lot of people seem to think I have. It is not the case.

“Secondly, it is not for me to determine whether or not the Prime Minister has committed a contempt. My role is to decide whether there is an arguable case to be examined.

“Having considered the issue, having taken advice from the clerks of the House, I’ve decided that this is a matter that I should allow the precedence accorded to the issue of privilege.

He added: “Scheduling the debate for Thursday will, I hope, give members an opportunity to consider the motion and the response to it.

“The motion will appear on Thursday’s order paper to be taken after any urgent questions or statements. Hopefully there won’t be any.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Tory MPs to “do their patriotic duty” in Thursday’s vote on the Prime Minister’s conduct.

He said: “The British public have declared Boris Johnson a liar. Now it’s time for Parliament to do the same.

“The country cannot afford a Prime Minister who breaks the law and lies about it, especially when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis.

“Mr Johnson has taken the British people for fools for far too long, and it’s time for Conservative MPs to show where they stand. They must do their patriotic duty and kick Boris Johnson out of Downing Street once and for all.”

We take it for granted too.

The issue here is that MPs have parliamentary privilege to say just about anything without their opponents being allowed to formally call them a liar (even if the evidence of lying is incontrovertible).

This convention is a bit archaic but the flip side of the convention is, as doon as an minister realises he or she was not telling the truth / didn’t have all the facts / read put the wrong statistic etc and it’s gone onto the Hansard record, they are obliged to explain the error and correct the record.

Boris insisted repeatedly that the multiple parties he had in his own house never broke his own lockdown rules. Given the considerable evidence that this was so obviously untrue, the police were asked to investigate alongside an independent investigation.

If both investigations rule that the parties broke the rules it’s tantamount to proof that the Ministerial Code has been broken.

The Ministerial Code requires an “honourable” member of the House to either correct the record immediately or resign from a ministerial position under those circumstances.

This is supposed to promote probity but it is also a great tool for witticism, or (American courtroom style) showboating.

Loony left MP Dennis Skinner, aka The Beast of Bolsover, was the master of playing the remark, then withdraw it card:

Skinner: “Half the Tory members opposite are crooks!”
Speaker: “Withdraw...”
Skinner: “Okay... half the Tory members AREN’T crooks!”

On another occasion, he was ordered to withdraw his claim that a Tory MP is a “a pompous sod”.

Speaker: “You had better withdraw that!”
Skinner: “I withdraw the word pompous.”
Speaker: “That’s not the word I’m looking for.”
Skinner: “I can’t withdraw BOTH!”

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