Stroud’s MP has explained why she did not take part in a vote on a report which found Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown parties.
In the vote on Monday, the Commons overwhelmingly supported the report by 354 to seven with 225 other MPs either abstaining or not turning up to vote.
The report followed a year-long inquiry and found the former Prime Minister repeatedly misled parliament about lockdown parties at Downing Street.
It was endorsed by 354 votes to seven although around 225 Conservative MPs were absent for the vote, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Stroud’s MP Siobhan Baillie.
In a statement sent to Stroud Times, she said: “I make no apologies for not voting in the privileges Committee debate about whether Boris Johnson should lose his pass as an ex MP. It was a one-line whip so I was not compelled to be there and I decided to use my time locally like many members from all political parties appear to have also done.
“I decided it was more important to be in Stroud on Monday hearing from those who were recently hit by floods in the town. My diary is booked up for months in advance so I was grateful for the opportunity to spend time with businesses and councils.
However, as I have made clear to anybody who has written to me about this, I very much respect the important work of the Privileges Committee and the findings of its thorough investigation. Committee members should not have been attacked either.
“Please also note that Parliament was not going to vote on the report as there was really no need. A Labour whip pushed the matter to a vote – against convention, just to cause political mischief. Parliament still voted in favour of the report so they gained little apart from perhaps whipping up more hate against people like me online.
“Local people know that I ignore Twitter nonsense and I try to avoid political games. I do my best to manage every day to best help people here and I will continue to do so.”