The blond khazi mop head is seriously dischuffed this morning after his nomination for the intelligence Committee chairmanship was out-voted by a back-bench member of the 'nasty party'. So p*ssed off was he, that he has now withdrawn the party whip from the successful candidate and expelled him from membership of the party. - what a shame !!! Tory MP Julian Lewis loses Conservative whip after beating Chris Grayling to chair intelligence committee He has been a Conservative MP since 1997 Jon Stone Policy Correspondent @joncstone 1 hour ago 177 comments Conservative MP Julian Lewis has been stripped of the Tory whip after beating Downing Street’s preferred choice to chair parliament’s intelligence and security committee. Boris Johnson raised eyebrows by endorsing former Cabinet minister Chris Grayling for the role, which is supposed to be independent of the government and elected by MPs. But in a dramatic vote on Wednesday evening Mr Lewis successfully worked with opposition MPs to secure the chairmanship of the committee. A senior government source said the action had been taken against Mr Lewis “for working with Labour and other opposition MPs for his own advantage”. The vote was taken by secret ballot. Mr Grayling was painted by his opponents as a government stooge who would do the bidding of Downing Street on the sensitive watchdog. The election of the committee’s chairmanship coincides with reports that the prime minister’s controversial adviser Dominic Cummings has taken an interest in intelligence matters and has visited MI5, MI6, and other national security sites. Mr Lewis, a senior Eurosceptic and member of the European Research Group, has been a Conservative MP since 1997, when he was elected to represent New Forest East. A hawk on defence matters such as renewal of the UK’s nuclear arsenal, he chaired the Defence Select Committee from 2015 to 2019. Unlike a normal parliamentary committee, the intelligence and security committee is established in law with the purpose of holding the government to account on how it runs MI5, MI6, GCHQ, and its other intelligence agencies. It was first set up in 1994 and had its powers expanded in 2013. The committee’s evidence sessions are held in private because of the sensitive nature of its work and its membership is chosen by parliament as a whole, with the chair chosen by the committee itself. Reacting to the news, former home secretary Jacqui Smith described the decision to strip Mr Lewis of the whip as an ”attack on the independence” of the committee, and said it was ”a serious step over the line” for the government. Shadow justice minister Peter Kyle described the move as “another assault on parliament’s sovereignty”. SNP defence spokesperson Stewart McDonald, said: “This is another total shambles from the Tory government, which has failed to put in place a functioning Intelligence and Security Committee for more than six months since the election. “With his abysmal record of failure as a Tory minister, Chris Grayling is the only man who could lose a rigged election but it is right the committee has elected a chair and it should now get on with the crucial job of ensuring scrutiny and oversight of security matters, after months of delay.” Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said the prime minister had appointed “yes men” to the ISC but “true to form, however, failing Grayling has been undone in his bid to be chair”. “I hope we now have a committee with real teeth that can hold this government to account,” he added. “That starts by publishing the report into Russian interference of our democracy before the summer recess so MPs can scrutinise it fully.” A committee source told the Press Association: “This was a secret ballot but clearly for him [Mr Grayling] to lose, some Tories decided not to vote for him.”
Further evidence of Boris attempting to pick his choice for chair of the committee. 'Improper request': MP sacked by Boris Johnson after winning controversial security job hits back at PM Yahoo Staff Writer Jul 16th 2020 1:41PM The former Tory MP elected to head up an important security committee has accused Boris Johnson of making an "improper request". Julian Lewis said the prime minister does not have the right to choose who chairs the intelligence and security committee (ISC) after he was picked to do so on Tuesday night. He has since lost the Tory whip after being elected as chairman, with it having been widely reported that Johnson wanted Chris Grayling for the job. In a statement to the PA news agency, Lewis said: "It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the prime minister's preferred candidate for the ISC chair. "I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate." A senior government source saidLewis had had the Conservative whip withdrawn because he had been "working with Labour and other opposition MPs for his own advantage". However,Lewis said Downing Street had publicly declared it did not have a favoured candidate for the post, despite widespread reports of a whipping operation to get the Tories on the committee to vote for Grayling. He added: "In recent days, the official No 10 spokesman explicitly denied that the government was seeking to 'parachute' a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide. "It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the government's preferred candidate." Critics have accused Johnson of "running scared" after the Tory whip was removed from Lewis, which some say was the decision of Johnson's adviser Dominic Cummings. Having failed to install a loyalist, PM now running scared of scrutiny. This is an overreaction, likely by Dominic Cummings rather than the Chief Whip. PM must stop interfering and the committee must publish the #RussiaReport now. All MPs must stand firm against No10 power grab. https://t.co/19xPD09CPl — Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) July 15, 2020 Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael tweeted: "Having failed to install a loyalist, PM now running scared of scrutiny. "This is an overreaction, likely by Dominic Cummings rather than the Chief Whip." He added: "All MPs must stand firm against No10 power grab." Former Tory cabinet minister and chairman of the ISC, Dominic Grieve, who also had the Tory whip removed in 2019 over his opposition to Brexit, described the move against Lewis as "utter absurdity". He told the BBC: "What troubles me about this episode, quite apart from its utter absurdity, and now withdrawing the whip from Julian, who is indeed highly respected, is the mindset it gives about what on earth is going on in Downing Street. "Why did they try to manipulate this process? They shouldn't have done. "The committee can only exist, the committee can only be respected... if it is seen to be non-partisan, and independent." Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, another ex-ISC chairman, said the prime minister had acted in an "extremely incompetent" manner and that those responsible for advising him should be sacked. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it is essential that the committee is seen to be independent of government if it is to be able to do its job effectively. Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy also criticised the decision, tweeting: "Completely self-defeating act that bears the hallmark of a government so arrogant it really believes it is above scrutiny." Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner branded the move against Lewis "grubby". She tweeted: "Julian Lewis MP has the Tory Whip removed after being elected as Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, after beating hapless Chris Grayling. I wonder who in No10 ordered that the long serving Tory MP had the whip removed? What a grubby shower they are!" Completely self-defeating act that bears the hallmark of a Government so arrogant it really believes it is above scrutiny. What is in the Russia report that Johnson doesn't want to see the light of day? https://t.co/GyCR5PlYJ2 — Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) July 15, 2020 Julian Lewis MP has the Tory Whip removed after being elected as Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, after beating hapless Chris Grayling. I wonder who in No10 ordered that the long serving Tory MP had the whip removed? � What a grubby shower they are! — � Angela Rayner � (@AngelaRayner) July 15, 2020 With the Conservatives enjoying a majority – with five out of nine places on the committee – there had been concern at Westminster that the Tory members would be "whipped" to support Grayling despite concerns about his expertise. Unlike previous chairmen, the former transport secretary had little experience of security matters and was dubbed "failing Grayling" for a series of policy blunders during his time in government. Reacting to Grayling's loss, SNP shadow defence secretary, Stewart McDonald, said: "With his abysmal record of failure as a Tory minister, Chris Grayling is the only man who could lose a rigged election." In contrast,Lewis is a former chairman of the Commons defence committee, who has taken a close interest in defence and security issues throughout his time in Parliament. Johnson has faced criticism over the delay in appointing the committee which has not met since the last parliament was dissolved in November last year. The committee has yet to publish its long-awaited report into Russian interference in UK politics after Johnson refused to clear it for release before last year's general election.
