Chris Grayling loses committee chair vote in Tory rebellion
Former cabinet secretary Chris Grayling has failed to win the chairmanship of the Intelligence and Security Committee, despite being handpicked by Boris Johnson for the role, with fellow Tory MP Julian Lewis instead elected.
The ex-transport secretary was expected to be voted into the role, however some Conservative MPs on the committee rebelled and instead installed Lewis.
He won the vote after an apparent plot with Labour and SNP MPs, with the help of Tory defectors.
The committee is made up of five Tory MPs, three Labour MPS and one SNP MP, however no breakdown of individual votes is available.
Grayling, who has often been known as “failing Grayling”, was chosen by Downing Street as the preferred choice as chair of the powerful committee, with many speculating that he would give Johnson an easy ride.
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A Number 10 spokesperson said this week that Grayling was chosen because he had “a range of experience including government, opposition and in parliament”.
The mini-rebellion could be seen as a hit to Johnson’s standing among Tory MPs, just seven months after guiding them to a landslide election victory.
Lewis’ election now clears the way for a long-awaited report into Russian interference in UK politics to be released.
There had been speculation that the government had tried to delay the report by taking six months to set up the committee.
Johnson also faced similar charges during last year’s election, after it took many months for the report to be cleared by Downing Street.