Country wants to move on from Boris Johnson, says Shapps

The state "wants to determination on" from Boris Johnson, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has said, dismissing claims the ex-PM was the unfortunate of a witch hunt.

Mr Johnson resigned arsenic an MP, saying helium had been forced retired by a "Kangaroo Court" of MPs investigating Partygate.

Speaking connected Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Shapps said it was Mr Johnson's "own decision" to basal down.

He besides denied reports Rishi Sunak's squad prevented Mr Johnson handing retired honours to cardinal allies.

Mr Johnson's dramatically stood down from Parliament, conscionable hours aft Downing Street published his resignation honours list without the names of cardinal allies including Nadine Dorries, Sir Alok Sharma and Nigel Adams.

All 3 had been expecting to beryllium appointed to the House of Lords, the BBC has been told.

Competing claims astir however and wherefore the names were removed are present astatine the bosom of a rift wrong the Tory enactment pursuing the erstwhile PM's resignation.

A root acquainted with the process has told the BBC that Mr Sunak's governmental squad removed immoderate of Mr Johnson's suggestions months ago.

Asked if rumours were existent that Mr Sunak's squad had removed the names, Mr Shapps said: "No."

"The premier minster has precisely followed the precise longstanding conventions" implicit honours, Mr Shapps said.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) - the authoritative assemblage for checking and vetting caller peers - has confirmed it rejected 8 of Mr Johnson's nominations connected the grounds of propriety.

Pressed connected whether Mr Sunak's squad had taken names disconnected the database months earlier the nominations were sent to HOLAC, Mr Shapps said: "As acold arsenic I'm alert that is not true."

The spat mightiness look grubby from the extracurricular - but immoderate Mr Johnson's allies person nary tendency to fto this lie.

Within 24-hours of the database being published some Ms Dorries and Mr Adams resigned arsenic MPs - triggering by-elections successful their constituencies, some of which are considered harmless seats for the Conservatives.

Mr Johnson's resignation besides triggers a by-election successful his marginal constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

This hattrick of by-elections have the imaginable to make large problems for Mr Sunak astatine a clip erstwhile the Conservatives are trailing Labour by an mean of 15 points successful nationalist polls.

Pressed connected whether Mr Johnson had been the unfortunate of a witch hunt, Mr Shapp's said: "I don't deliberation that's true."

"Boris himself has decided to measurement down - that is his ain decision."

"People don't miss the drama" of Mr Johnson's clip successful office, Mr Shapps added.

Mr Johnson announced helium was leaving parliament a time aft seeing beforehand a study of the findings of the Commons Privileges Committee investigating into whether helium misled the Commons implicit Partygate.

In an explosive and lengthy statement, helium called the committee a "kangaroo court" whose intent "has been to find maine guilty, careless of the facts".

In a written statement, Mr Johnson said the draught study from the committee was "riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice".

He said the committee was "determined to usage the proceedings against maine to thrust maine retired of Parliament".

Asked astir Mr Johnson's comments, Mr Shapps said: "I haven't seen what they've written, but I person nary peculiar crushed to deliberation that is the case."