Northampton MP Sir Michael Ellis urged to apologise for defending Boris Johnson in House of Commons over lockdown parties multiple times

The Northampton MP who repeatedly defended Boris Johnson in the House of Commons should apologise, an election rival has said.

Sir Michael Ellis, the Conservative MP for Northampton North, repeatedly told MPs in 2021 and 2022 that Mr Johnson was a “man of honour” and there was “absolutely no indication” he had misled the Commons over lockdown parties.

Lucy Rigby, Labour’s candidate to stand against him in the next general election, said Sir Michael had been Mr Johnson’s “denier in chief” and had made “repeated defences of what was clearly completely indefensible”.

Sir Michael’s office was approached to comment.

Last week, the Commons’ cross-party Privileges Committee found Mr Johnson had deliberately misled the House of Commons about his knowledge of lockdown parties.

Mr Johnson resigned days before the report was formally published.

In December 2021, January 2022, April 2022 and June 2022, Sir Michael defended Mr Johnson as a member of the government to MPs.

In June 2022 he said he would not have appeared at the dispatch box to support Mr Johnson unless he had been “more than satisfied” that information from Mr Johnson was correct.

“Given the Privileges Committee’s clear findings that Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament about his lockdown parties, it’s only right that his denier in chief, Michael Ellis, apologises for his repeated defences of what was clearly completely indefensible,” Mrs Rigby said.

“There are plenty of people in Northampton who found Michael Ellis’ defences of Mr Johnson’s conduct highly offensive given we were being told not to see loved ones, even when those loved ones were dying.”

She said given the Privileges Committee had shown Sir Michael’s comments made to Parliament “to be untrue”, he too “should also consider correcting the record.

Two of Northamptonshire’s seven Conservative MPs voted to support the committee’s report – Northampton South’s Andrew Lewer and South Northamptonshire MP Dame Andrea Leadsom.

Sir Michael, Corby’s Tom Pursglove, Wellingborough’s Peter Bone, Daventry MP Chris Heaton-Harris and Kettering MP Philip Hollobone did not vote.

In total, 354 MPs voted to support the committee’s findings, with seven voting against. Of 352 Conservative MPs, 225 did not vote.

It was announced on Saturday that Sir Michael will be knighted in 2023’s Political Honours for public and political service, along with fellow former cabinet minister, Sir Brandon Lewis.