Boris Johnson announces he’s standing down as MP in scathing statement insisting ‘I did NOT lie’

BORIS Johnson last night threw in the towel as an MP with a howl of rage - insisting "I did not lie".

The ex-PM branded the Partygate probe a "kangaroo court" and a "Brexit witch hunt" that was "determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament".

He also accused his critics of trying to reverse the 2016 referendum — with his political execution “the necessary first step” — and their findings “plainly a political hit-job on someone they oppose.”

The shock resignation came hours after he was handed the MPs’ draft findings that accused him of lying to the Commons about lockdown-breaking at No10.

Last night he said: "It is very sad to be leaving parliament - at least for now - but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias."

His exit will trigger an  immediate by-election in his West London seat of Uxbridge, which he held in 2019 with a majority of 7,210.

Mr Johnson departed with a stinging rebuke of his successor as PM, Rishi Sunak.

He savaged the Tories’ direction since his No10 defenestration last summer, saying: “We must not be afraid to be a properly ­Conservative government.”

He warned: “We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17 million voted for Brexit.

“When I left office last year the Government was only a handful of points behind in the polls.

"That gap has now massively widened.”

And he warned that Mr Sunak was driving the Tories off an ­electoral cliff, saying: “Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.

“Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.

“We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit and we need in the next months to be ­setting out a pro-growth and pro- investment agenda.

“We need to cut business and personal taxes — and not just as pre-election gimmicks — rather than endlessly putting them up.”

This is the very definition of a kangaroo court.

Boris Johnson

But in a hint of a comeback one-day, he said he was departing front-line politics "at least for now."

Mr Johnson launched a passionate defence of his actions, insisting the Committee did not have a “shred of evidence” that he had knowingly misled the Commons — seen as a political hanging offence.

And he turned his fire on the Labour-led probe, questioning the motives of Harriet Harman and Sue Gray — the Partygate inquisitor now set to become  Sir Keir Starmer’s right-hand woman.

He hit out: “I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the Committee know it.

“But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the truth because from the outset their purpose has not been to discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my mind when I spoke in the Commons.

“Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts. This is the very definition of a kangaroo court.

“Most members of the committee  — especially the chair — had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence. They should have recused themselves.

“In retrospect it was naive and trusting of me to think that these proceedings could be remotely ­useful or fair. But I was determined to believe in the system, and in justice, and to vindicate what I knew to be the truth.”

He added: "It was the same faith in the impartiality of our systems that led me to commission Sue Gray. It is clear that my faith has been misplaced.

"Of course, it suits the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP to do whatever they can to remove me from Parliament.

"Sadly, as we saw in July last year, there are currently some Tory MPs who share that view. I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch-hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.

"My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there has been a concerted attempt to bring it about.

"I am afraid I no longer believe that it is any coincidence that Sue Gray — who investigated gatherings in No10 — is now the chief of staff designate of the ­Labour leader."

Mr Johnson’s fiery departure risked reopening years of bitter Tory civil war — with his supporters hinting last night of further resignations and by- elections to try to topple Sunak.

Ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel was understood to be one of the MPs threatening to go.

And Michael Fabricant hit out at the “disgraceful treatment of a ­political leader who has made world history”.

Red Wall poster boy Mark Jenkinson added that it was “very sad as we lose a political giant from the Commons, a man that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest political leaders in my lifetime.

"Against all odds — an 80-seat Conservative majority.”

Earlier yesterday, ultra Boris ally Nadine Dorries also quit the Commons after a major dust-up over his ­resignation honours list.

The ex-Culture Secretary was booted off his nominations for the Lords in an 11-hour snub she blames on Rishi Sunak. 

A furious Dorries has set up a by-election showdown in Mid-Bedfordshire.

Last night ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun: “I’m sorry to see that Boris Johnson has decided to step down.

“He still had a lot to give to the party. I wish him all the best.”

Ex-minister Brendan Clark Smith said the actions of the Privileges Committee “would put a banana republic to shame”.

Carrie Johnson took to social media to share a comment about her husband.

It read: "No one else in British politics has the same affinity with the public."

And in a statement Richard Mills, chairman of Uxbridge & South Ruislip Conservative Association, said it had been an "honour and privilege" to work with Boris Johnson since he was elected as the constituency's MP in 2015.

Mr Mills added: "Contrary to external perception his commitment to the constituency over the last eight years has been outstanding and he has delivered for the communities across Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

"From supporting local businesses and charities and ensuring a tunnel and further migration against HS2, to protecting Uxbridge police station and putting additional police officers on the street; he has delivered on his promises to local residents.

"We respect his decision to stand down as our local MP in response to the outcomes proposed by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee in a coordinated campaign against him.