Julian Lewis loses Tory whip after chair victory

Conservative MP Julian Lewis has been kicked out of the Conservative parliamentary party after surprisingly beating Chris Grayling to become chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Grayling was widely expected to get the role, with reports claiming the he was undoubtedly No 10’s proffered choice, and with a Tory majority, unlikely not to lead the committee.

However, following concerns about the committee’s impartiality if the former Transport Secretary became chair, MPs backed Lewis, who indeed backed himself, in what is being described as a ‘coup’.

The committee scrutinises the work of the intelligence and security services, and is set to publish a report into Russian  interference in UK politics, which has been delayed since before the General Election last year. The report includes evidence from UK intelligence services concerning Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 EU referendum and 2017 general election.

It is now understood that Lewis has been told by the chief whip that he has been kicked out of the party because he worked with Labour and other opposition MPs for his own advantage. The removal of the Tory whip means the Conservatives no longer hold a majority on the committee.

In a statement, Lewis said: "It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the prime minister's preferred candidate for the ISC chair. I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate.

"In recent days, the official Number 10 spokesman explicitly denied that the government was seeking to 'parachute' a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide. It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the government's preferred candidate."

Lisa Nandy, Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary, tweeted: "Completely self-defeating act that bears the hallmark of a government so arrogant it really believes it is above scrutiny. What is in the Russia report that Johnson doesn't want to see the light of day?"

The other Conservative committee members are Sir John Hayes, Mr Lewis, Mark Pritchard, and Theresa Villiers. There are two Labour MPs - Kevan Jones and Dame Diana Johnson - plus Labour peer Lord West of Spithead. Stewart Hosie is the SNP's representative on the committee.