Norfolk MP and former prime minister Liz Truss said Boris Johnson can still make a positive impact to the future of the Conservative Party, despite a scathing report which found he lied to Parliament over partygate.

And the South West Norfolk MP, who succeeded Mr Johnson for her brief, 44-day spell in Downing Street, said it would be wrong to write him off.

Speaking to GB News, Ms Truss said she was not going to question the integrity of the MPs on the committee - comprised of four Tories, two Labour MPs, and one from the SNP.

 

But she said: "Fundamentally, the people who should be making decisions about who MPs are, are the voters and those are the people we seem to be forgetting."

Mr Johnson resigned from his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat after he was handed the committee’s provisional findings.

Eastern Daily Press: Liz TrussLiz Truss (Image: Denise Bradley)

But Ms Truss said she believed Mr Johnson could still make a positive contribution to her party's future.

She said: "I do believe he can. And you know, I'm not sort of talking about Boris' plans, you can't doubt Boris now he's got more free time.

"So I want Boris to stay and fight for his vision.

"Never ever, ever write Boris off. That is something that I think is very, very clear."

Eastern Daily Press: Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson (Image: PA)

READ MORE: Liz Truss claims PM mistakes will make her better Norfolk MP

The committee found Mr Johnson deliberately misled the House with his partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation against the MPs investigating him.

Branding him the first former prime minister to have ever lied to the Commons, the committee said the offences merited a 90-day suspension which would have paved the way for a by-election if he had not preemptively resigned in protest.

The Commons will vote on Monday on the report, which also recommends he be banned from holding a pass to access Parliament.

Mr Johnson was furious at what he called a "deranged conclusion".