Senior Labour MP Harriet Harman has revealed clerks working on the Commons Privileges Committee, which forced Boris Johnson out of parliament, did “hilarious” impressions of the ex-PM while rehearsing for the trial.
Speaking to Iain Dale at the Edinburgh Fringe, Ms Harman said the clerk did an “absolutely hilarious” impression of Mr Johnson, getting into character and delivering an “excellent” role-play.
She revealed the Committee did two whole days of rehearsals for the trial, as they did not want to “cock it up”.
“We were feeling this global focus on it and we all felt we had to get it absolutely right,”
“We had two whole days of rehearsals of it, with one of the clerks being Boris Johnson, which was absolutely hilarious because he was ruffling his hair and role-playing.”
“And normally the clerks are very stayed, sober, rational, logical people but he really took to it – he really did it excellently.”
The revelation of lighthearted impersonations gives further ammunition to Mr Johnson’s allies who claimed throughout the trial Ms Harman’s committee was a biased kangaroo court.
Amid such allegations, her committee published a rebuttal blog on their website, including a claim that: “All Clerks are employees of the House of Commons and impartial”.
Responding to Ms Harman’s interview, top Tory MP and Boris Johnson ally Sir James Duddridge told the Express it is yet more proof that they were “disinterested in the real truth”.
Sir James said: ”More proof, if it were needed, that it was political pantomime, rehearsed, wanting to exploit the situation and disinterested in the real truth”.
“Boris is a great man trying to do his best with a team committed to getting us out of covid in one piece.”
Ms Harman told Iain Dale it was “very galling to see Members of Parliament saying ‘this is a kangaroo court’”.
“It wasn’t a kangaroo court, it was a committee of the House of Commons which they had asked to be set up.
“They’d set the terms of reference, they’d agreed all the members and therefore just when it looked like we were going to make a finding they didn’t agree with, was quite wrong for them to be criticising it.”
She added she was “proud” of the “phenomenal” system that allowed Mir Johnson to be “held to account”.
The committee’s report into Mr Johnson said the clerk was Dr Robin James, who has spent 32 years working in Westminster.
