Boris Johnson has gone “full Trump” in his response to an inquiry investigating whether he lied to parliament over Partygate, some of his own MPs have warned.
Support for the former Prime Minister is falling as he and his allies questioned the Commons Privileges Committee probe into whether he knowingly misled MPs about what he knew about No10 bashes during lockdown.
They likened Mr Johnson to former US President Donald Trump, whose presidency was dogged by lies and conspiracy theories.
Mr Johnson’s criticisms came after the committee released a bombshell dossier that said rule-breaking would have been “obvious” to the former PM – because he was at some of the gatherings.
The former PM tried to distract from its findings by claiming it was “surreal” the committee will use evidence from Whitehall investigator Sue Gray, as she is poised to become Keir Starmer ’s chief of staff.
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He and his allies have since been brazenly trying to rubbish Ms Gray’s Partygate report, which last year declared Mr Johnson must “bear responsibility” over No10 gatherings – eight of which he is believed to have attended.
But several senior Tory MPs have expressed disbelief to The Observer, with one MP who is well informed about Partygate saying: “They have gone full Trump. It is wicked. Where will this end? They are desperate.”
Another senior MP said Mr Johnson was “just like Trump, saying black is white, white is black”.
Tobias Ellwood, Tory chair of the Defence Committee, suggested Mr Johnson’s behaviour risked distracting from Rishi Sunak’s progress of his new Brexit deal.
“If we now stay united and disciplined we could win the general election but not if this latest distraction turns into a Trumpian drag anchor,” he said.
Other senior Conservatives said the former PM may have committed contempt of Parliament in the last 48 hours alone by attacking and undermining the work of a committee which was authorised by the Commons to look into whether he had lied to MPs.
Sir Bob Neill, Tory chair of the Justice Committee and a lawyer, said: “It is wrong for anyone to try to undermine the work of a parliamentary committee.”
The committee’s report said there was “evidence that the Commons may have been misled” by the former PM who had told it that “all guidance was followed completely” during the gatherings.
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In response, Mr Johnson bizarrely said the report had “vindicated” him.
He then tried to rubbish the work of top civil servant Ms Gray, who last week quit Whitehall after decades of service so she can take up a role as Mr Starmer’s top aide.
He said: “It is surreal to discover that the committee proposes to rely on evidence culled and orchestrated by Sue Gray, who has just been appointed chief of staff to the leader of the Labour Party.”
He added: “I leave it to others to decide how much confidence may now be placed in her inquiry and in the reports that she produced.”
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Former Culture Secretary and Mr Johnson’s biggest cheerleader Nadine Dorries also pitched in, saying: “Sue Gray’s evidence cannot be relied upon in any meaningful way until we know how long Sue Gray has had a personal relationship with Keir Starmer and for how long they have been discussing Sue going to work for him as his most trusted and important adviser.”
A well-placed ally of Mr Johnson said the committee’s inquiry is “beyond a farce and totally lacks credibility”, while Tory MP Mark Jenkinson called it a “total circus”.
Labour dismissed claims that Ms Gray’s move to Mr Starmer’s office proved a plot to oust the former Prime Minister as “ludicrous”.
Sources on the Privileges Committee said that none of its evidence from witnesses was from Ms Gray and neither did it plan to take any evidence from her.
Due to senior civil servants’ access to a range of sensitive information, Ms Gray’s appointment has been referred to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) – an official watchdog which provides advice to the Prime Minister.
A No10 official said the PM “is the ultimate decision maker in the case, but he would obviously take on board the recommendation of ACOBA”.
It is understood there is no official legal mechanism which could block Ms Gray from taking the position.
Recommendations may be made on the length of time that has to pass before it is appropriate for her to take up the position.
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