Liz Truss wants a halt called to the Commons investigation into whether Boris Johnson lied to parliament, now he is stepping down as prime minister. Asked at the latest Tory leadership hustings in Darlington whether she would vote to end the privileges committee inquiry, the foreign secretary replied: “Yes.”
As she pointed out, there is little prospect of such a vote taking place. Yet Ms Truss’s statement is deeply worrying. Of course, she has won some brownie points, and votes, in the election by contrasting her status as a “loyal member” of Mr Johnson’s cabinet with her opponent’s decision to resign as chancellor. Yet Rishi Sunak did not bring Mr Johnson down; it was all his own work.
It is true that Mr Sunak’s decision provoked the avalanche of resignations by 60 Tory MPs which brought the Johnson premiership to a sudden end. But he could by no means have been sure that would happen. His actions have undoubtedly damaged his prospects in the Tory race; at hustings events, grassroots Tory members have criticised him for “wielding the knife”.
