Baroness Betty Boothroyd hits out against Prime Minister over 'partygate'

In a now rare public intervention, Baroness Betty Boothroyd – the country’s first female Speaker – appears to endorse former Sir John Major’s withering warning to Mr Johnson that “outright lies breed contempt” and that “misleading replies to questions invite disillusion”.

And the Dewsbury-born grandee, who was Speaker when Sir John’s Government imploded in the 1990s over a succession of sleaze scandals, also encourages more leaders of “integrity” to defend Britain’s democracy which, she warns, is in a “pitiful state”.

It is nearly 30 years since Baroness Boothroyd was elected Speaker in April 1992 and she has not spoken in the House of Lords since October 2020.

Her latest remarks are prompted by the widespread criticism that Sir John is still receiving a week after a speech to the Institute for Government where he said Mr Johnson’s “foolish behaviour” and “evasive” tactics over Downing Street parties in breach of Covid lockdown laws were having a “corrosive” effect on Parliamentary and the country.

These critics include Sir Bernard Ingham, the press secretary to former premier Margaret Thatcher, who used his weekly column in The Yorkshire Post to advise Sir John to “shut up”.

In a forthright letter, Baroness Boothroyd endorses Sir John while appearing to rebuke Mr Johnson without referring to the current occupant of 10 Downing Street by name as police investigate multiple parties held at Downing Street in lockdown.

“I trust Sir John Major will not heed Sir Bernard Ingham’s unwarranted advice in The Yorkshire Post to ‘shut up’ about the pitiful state of Britain’s frail democracy,” she writes.

“The more said the better, especially by people with Sir John’s integrity. Free speech and respect for the law are the core of British values.”

She concludes: “We shun extremism, listen to the other side but believe in patriotism. Long may it be so.”

Tory peer Anne McIntosh, the former Thirsk and Malton MP, backed Baroness Boothroyd and called for leadership “to bring the country together”.

“We are facing a serious security threat on the border of Ukraine and Russia,” she said.

“Individual households are facing an economic crisis with rising bills. We need a period of calm.

"The sooner we can get to the bottom of the ‘partygate’ scandal, the better.

"We need leadership from the top to bring the country together.”

Asked if Mr Johnson still had her support, Baroness McIntosh of Pickering said: “That is a matter for MPs – we have little power in the House of Lords.”

But she did say that the Government’s flagship levelling up policy offered “a one-off opportunity for Boris Johnson to show he is a ‘one nation’ Tory” by putting rural issues “at the heart of policy”.