IAN Blackford has firmly stood by his comments on Boris Johnson that led to his removal from the House of Commons, saying he did it for his constituents and “the millions of people in the United Kingdom that feel real anger”.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday morning after the dramatic events in Westminster, the SNP Westminster leader spoke of the importance of calling out the Prime Minister and said his comments to the Tory chief were not been premeditated.
After Johnson made a statement on the Sue Gray report on Monday, opposition leaders had a chance to put their questions to the Conservative leader.
Gray revealed in an “update” that of the 16 alleged gatherings she had deemed necessary to investigate, at least 12 linked to government properties in Downing Street and Whitehall were being investigated by the police.
This included at least four directly linked to Johnson either because he was reported to have attended, or because they are reported to have taken place in his flat.
Three alleged gatherings not previously reported were also included in the report.
But the police investigation had prevented her from delivering any meaningful report as to not impact the inquiry.
During his contribution, Blackford heavily criticised the findings of the senior civil servant’s report, calling it a “fact-finding exercise with no facts”.
He called into question Johnson’s excuse that he believed one of the gatherings was a work event, telling the House: “Nobody believed him then and nobody believes you now Prime Minister … he has wilfully misled Parliament.”
Blackford and Speaker Lindsay Hoyle then entered a tense, lengthy back-and-forth, which saw the MP urged repeatedly to withdraw his statement.
Amid shouting from the Tory benches, the Speaker began the process to remove Blackford from the Chamber. “Under the power given to me by standing order number 43 I order the honourable member to withdraw immediately from the House.”
However, Blackford had walked out before the end of the statement. Hoyle noted: “It’s alright, we don’t need to bother.”
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Speaking to BBC Breakfast the morning after the incident, the MP said: “No, it wasn’t a stunt, it wasn’t premeditated.
“If I were to be in trouble because I’ve spoken the truth yet the man that has repeatedly told lies, the man that has sought to cover up everything that’s going on, the man that has misled Parliament, sits there,” he said.
“I’m to be punished because I’ve stood up for my constituents and stood up for the millions of people in the United Kingdom that feel real anger.
“I have a duty to do what I have been sent to Westminster to do.”
Later on Tuesday, speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Blackford said he had taken no pleasure in having to leave the Chamber.
“Now, if I had withdrawn what I’d said yesterday in the House of Commons I would have been guilty of doing what the Prime Minister has done, and that would have been lying to everybody watching,” the SNP MP said.
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“One of these days the Prime Minister is going to have to accept that he has abused the trust that was put in him when he became Prime Minister. He should have gone by now.
“And this morning, my message to Tory MPs, they’re going to have to do the job because, quite simply, this man is not fit for purpose. He’s not fit to be Prime Minister.”
On Monday night, Johnson landed a temporary reprieve from any immediate threat to his leadership as his MPs appeared to be satiated by promises to overhaul the operation of No 10 in response to the partygate saga.
Criticism came from across the House, including from former prime minister Theresa May who asked whether Johnson either did not “read the rules”, understand them, or “didn’t think the rules applied to No 10”.
But by the time he met with parliamentarians in a rare gathering of the whole party later, a U-turn which promised to publish the eventual report in full and promises to shake up how No 10 and the Cabinet Office are run appeared to have calmed tensions, at least for the time being.
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