The MP for Carlisle has weighed in on the debate about the fine issued to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor were issued with fixed penalty notices after attending an event in Downing Street in June 2020.
The Metropolitan Police has also revealed that more than 50 people have been fined over parties held in Downing Street.
The fine calls into question comments made by the Prime Minister to MPs in December.
He told the House of Commons: “I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken.”
MPs are today debating whether Mr Johnson should be referred to the Committee of Privileges.
Carlisle’s Conservative MP, John Stevenson, said: “As I have said in the past, I am very disappointed about what happened in Number 10. There have been a lot of fines and the Prime Minister has accepted it happened.
“The House of Commons will today (Thursday) vote for a motion to refer the matter (of whether Boris Johnson knowingly misled Parliament) to the privileges committee and I am supportive of that. It is the right course of action.
“I believe we should wait for the full Sue Gray report and once it has concluded, the Prime Minister should then submit to a confidence vote of Conservative MPs.”
The Sue Gray report is expected to be released in full once the Metropolitan Police have concluded their investigation. This is expected to be next month.
On the point of whether the Prime Minister knowingly misled Parliament when he told MPs that he had been “repeatedly assured” that “there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken,” Mr Stevenson said: “You could argue it is an interpretation of rules and how we interpret them. That would be his view on the matter.”
The Carlisle MP expects that should a vote take place today on whether the matter should be referred to the Committee of Privileges, it will pass.
