Laura Farris paid an emotional tribute to Harriet Harman after the Privileges Committee chair had to fend off attacks from Tories over Boris Johnson and Partygate.
MPs overwhelming approved the committee’s report on Monday evening that judged the former prime minister’s outriders to have launched a “co-ordinated” attack on its work.
But the evening’s session wasn’t without its drama.
Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, Sir Michael Fabricant and Dame Priti Patel all took aim at the report’s findings, while tweets posted by Zack Goldsmith were also read out during the debate.
But Tory MP Laura Farris took a different view, defending Harman and paying tribute to her career – with her parliamentary colleague close to tears as a result.
Farris said: “The member for Camberwell and Peckham (Harman’s constituency) had already announced her intention to retire from parliament at the next election.
“A parliamentary career that has spanned five decades and has been defined by her commitment to the advancement of women’s rights.
“Fourteen weeks before she took up that appointment (as committee chair) her husband of 40 years, Jack, had died.
“Against this background, I invite members of the House to consider what is more likely – that she agreed to chair the committee as a final act of service to this House, or that she did so because she was interested in pursuing a personal vendetta against Boris Johnson.”
Watch the clip in full below:
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