Rishi Sunak refuses to say if he views Partygate inquiry into Boris Johnson as ‘witch-hunt’ – UK politics live

Prime minister declines to say whether he agrees with Tory MPs who describe privileges inquiry as biased

Good morning. Today we are expecting to see the dossier prepared by Boris Johnson intended to show the Commons privileges committee that he did not intentionally mislead MPs about Partygate. Readers with good memories – in fact, readers with any functioning memory at all – will recall that we said much the same yesterday morning. At some point today the forecast should finally come true.

Rishi Sunak has given an interview to BBC Breakfast this morning. He was primarily focusing on Louise Casey’s damning report about the Met, but he was also asked about Johnson. As well as confirming that Tory MPs will get a free vote if the privileges committee recommends sanctions that have to be approved by the Commons as a whole, Sunak also refused to say whether he thought Johnson was the victim of a witch-hunt.

That’s ultimately something for Boris Johnson and he’ll have the committee process to go through and that’s a matter for parliament. That’s not what I’m focused on.