Boris Johnson faces new humiliation as he awaits a vote in the UK parliament

Lawmakers were preparing to deal another blow to the parliamentary career of Britain’s divisive former prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Monday as they considered whether to pass a damning report that concluded he had deliberately accused colleagues had been misled about parties in Downing Street breaking the lockdown.

Mr Johnson resigned his seat 10 days ago after seeing an early version of the findings of the years-long inquiry by a powerful parliamentary committee. He dismissed the committee as a ‘kangaroo court’, even though the majority of members came from his own conservative party.

The committee eventually proposed revoking his parliamentary pass, saying that had he not already quit, it would have recommended a 90-day suspension by parliament – an outrageous punishment for a former prime minister.

If a majority of lawmakers approve the committee’s report, as expected, the practical effect on Mr. Johnson would be limited; losing his pass simply means he must be accompanied by another member if he wants to enter parliament. But it would be another embarrassing rebuke to a figure who was still prime minister at this time last year and who enjoyed enough popularity in 2019 to win a landslide victory for his party.

The issue has also divided the ruling Conservatives, now led by Rishi Sunak, who became prime minister last year. Mr Johnson still has a contingent of lawmakers who support him and see the committee’s recommendations as overly harsh.

But the feeling that his support was limited. Mr. Johnson eventually urged sympathizers not to vote against the committee report.

Mr Johnson, who turned 59 on Monday, is not expected to be in parliament and it was unclear whether Mr Sunak would attend the debate or how he – or many other senior colleagues – would vote if given the chance. On Sunday, Housing Minister Michael Gove said he intends to abstain from voting.

That suggests Mr Johnson’s parliamentary career could end – for now at least – with less drama than he often caused during his roughly three years in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson had made little secret of his ambitions to regain his old job as prime minister, but without a parliamentary seat that would be impossible. An approval of the report by parliament does not rule out Mr Johnson running again in the future, but most analysts think it is unlikely he will try to do so in the next general election, which will be in the second half of next year are expected.

Opinion polls show he is deeply unpopular with voters at large, even though he retains the support of a significant number of Conservative Party members who have been drawn to his optimistic, pro-Brexit rhetoric.

Still, there is likely to be no shortage of criticism of Mr Johnson from opposition lawmakers and some Conservatives who believe he has seriously undermined the standards expected of a prime minister. Deceiving parliament is considered a serious breach of the rules because, lawmakers argue, without accurate information from ministers they are unable to hold the government accountable – one of their most important duties.

In its report, the House of Commons Committee on Privileges said Mr Johnson deliberately misled lawmakers when he assured them, after the “partygate” scandal came to light, that lockdown rules had always been followed in Downing Street.

At a hearing before the committee earlier this year, Mr. Johnson that his commitments were made in good faith. But lawmakers found he had personal knowledge of rule-breaking, failed to properly investigate other allegations and committed multiple “contempt” of Parliament, including through his verbal attacks on the committee.

The continued focus on the fallout from the scandal is a political headache for Mr Sunak. He now faces some tough tests of his government’s electoral popularity to replace Mr Johnson and a handful of other colleagues in the constituencies they represented.

An ally of Mr Johnson, Nigel Adams, resigned after failing to secure a seat in the House of Lords; a second who finds herself in the same situation, Nadine Dorries, has threatened to quit, although she has not yet done so; and another Conservative legislator, David Warburton, resigned after being suspended over sexual misconduct allegations. Mr Warburton claimed he was denied a fair hearing by a parliamentary watchdog investigating the claims against him.

To add to Mr Sunak’s troubles, police have said they will look at a newly published video obtained by the Daily Mirror which appears to show Conservative staff drinking and dancing at a time when pandemic restrictions of were power. Police had said a previously published photo of the same event was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

There were reportedly about two dozen people at the party, including Shaun Bailey, who campaigned unsuccessfully to become Lord Mayor of London and who was elevated to the House of Lords by Mr Johnson as part of his resignation honors list.

Mr. Bailey left before the video was made, although an assistant who received a lower honor on the same list, Ben Mallet, does appear. Opposition politicians have called for both men to have their honors stripped.