Tory Rebels Eye 1922 Committee Takeover to Oust BoJo Amid Fears of 'Kangaroo Court'

The 1922 Committee is a Conservative backbench body that has the power to trigger party leadership votes, which is particularly capable of forcing the prime minister out of office.

"Ruthlessly organized" rebel Tories are forging a plot to take over the 1922 committee in order to change the rules for triggering a no-confidence vote; they hope to stage a second try to oust Johnson from office, according to The Guardian.

Should the plan work out, a new no-confidence vote could be triggered as soon as this fall. The date of the ballot for all positions may be announced next Wednesday.

Rebel Tories hope to seize the 18 positions in the committee. Among those considering a run for the 1922 Committee are Steve Baker and Andrew Bridgen, who have been critical of Johnson's handling of the "partygate" allegations, as well as Aaron Bell, who submitted the a letter of no confidence in Johnson in February, as well as Paul Holmes, who left his position as a ministerial aide in the wake of the "partygate" scandal. Chris Green, an MP for Bolton West & Atherton, also indicated his desire to run.

According to The Guardian, the rebels' plan is to carry out a "clean sweep" in order to get rid of the committee members who are supportive of the embattled prime minister.

However, some of the rebels noted that it was not about “kicking off all pro-Boris”, but making sure that the way is paved for those who “would be open to listening to how people genuinely feel”.

There is some division among the rebels regarding the idea to trigger another no-confidence vote just months after the previous one. Some of the Tory rebels, according to The Guardian, are uncomfortable about “changing the rules in the middle of the game” and instead want to “use other mechanisms”. For instance, they suggest pressuring the Conservative association chairs and party donors to publicly call for replacing Johnson as prime minister.

Calls for Johnson to resign, already intense enough in the wake of the "partygate" scandal, have escalated following the Tories' devastating twin by-election defeat in Wakefield, Tiverton and Honiton. Still, Johnson has indicated that he is "actively thinking" about a third term, while refusing to undergo any "psychological transformation" amid the accusations he is facing.

He currently faces a parliamentary investigation, with MPs suspecting him of "misleading" Parliament about his role in the scandalous Downing Street lockdown parties. For his part, Johnson insisted that all coronavirus guidance was followed in No 10.

Downing Street fears that the ongoing inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled the Parliament over his role in "partygate" scandal could descend into a "kangaroo court", according to The Telegraph.

The government officials are concerned about the Commons privileges committee's recent decision to grant anonymity to witnesses involved into the parliamentary investigation into Johnson, accusing the committee of relying on “hearsay evidence”.

On Wednesday, the privileges committee started looking into allegations of Johnson "misleading" Parliament over lockdown parties. In order to obtain evidence of "Mr. Johnson’s knowledge of the activities in 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office under Covid-19 regulations, from the occurrence of those events until now,” the committee indicated it was willing to take "oral or written evidence from people who wish to remain anonymous" before July 29.