A Tory MP was skewered live on TV over Rishi Sunak’s decision to dodge a Commons vote on Boris Johnson lying to parliament over partygate.
Bob Seely was asked by Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire whether the prime minister was “in hiding” after he failed to join 118 Conservatives - including several cabinet ministers - in voting to back the damning privileges committee report into Johnson’s conduct.
The clash came just an hour after the Commons voted 354-7 to endorse the committee’s findings and strip the former PM of his parliamentary pass.
Sunak has repeatedly refused to give his opinion on the report, and Downing Street yesterday said he was too busy with other engagements to be in parliament for the five-hour debate on its contents.
Derbyshire asked Seely: “Is Rishi Sunak in hiding?”
The Isle of Wight MP replied: No, he’s running the country and that’s what he should be doing.”
He said Commons leader Penny Mordaunt had represented the government in the debate “very well”.
But Derbyshire hit back: “Michael Gove told us he would abstain, Penny Mordaunt said she would back it, Theresa May said she would back it - as a leader you’ve got to step up at time like this, haven’t you?”
Avoiding the question, Selly responded: “If I had a choice between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer - the human version of Nytol - I know who I would choose. I would choose Rishi Sunak any day of the week.”
Derbyshire then said: “I’m asking you about whether it’s odd, bizarre, unusual, that the prime minister doesn’t tell us whether he backs this report.
“This is the guy who stood on the steps of Downing Street and said he wanted to restore integrity, and yet we don’t know what he thinks about this report into integrity.”
Seely, who backed the report, said Sunak was “frankly off doing something more important like running the country and that’s what he should be doing”.
The presenter than fired back: “Is parliamentary democracy not important?”
In a bizarre interview yesterday morning, Sunak repeatedly refused to say what he thought of the report, insisting he “wouldn’t want to influence” any MPs on how to vote.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s official spokesman said he was too busy with other engagements, including hosting the prime minister of Sweden, to attend parliament.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Rishi Sunak committed a cowardly cop-out. His failure to vote says all you need to know about this prime minister’s lack of leadership.
“Sunak promised integrity yet when push came to shove, he was too weak to even turn up.”