Boris Johnson accused of cowardice for avoiding MPs' social care questions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pulled out of an appearance before senior MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee and, as a result, avoided answering their questions about social care for the third time.

Mr Johnson had been due to appear before the Commons Liaison Committee today (24 October) to answer detailed questions about social care, climate change and Brexit but pulled out at the last minute, by sending a handwritten note to the committee’s chair.

His cancellation at short notice has prompted the committee's chair Sarah Wollaston to conclude Mr Johnson is “refusing to be held to account”.

In his handwritten note to Sarah Wollaston, the Prime Minister wrote:

‘Dear Sarah, I promised that I will come to the liaison committee and I will keep that promise but I am afraid I must now focus on delivering Brexit in the difficult circumstances in which we now find ourselves, and I believe I would be of greater value if I could postpone to a fixed date nearer 5 or 6 months after I become PM, so that my appearance took place after roughly the same period in office as Gordon Brown, David Cameron & Theresa May.

‘I do hope you will understand.’

‘Unacceptable’

On his first day as Prime Minister, Mr Johnson promised “fix the crisis in social care once and for all” and although the Queen’s Speech mentioned bringing forward proposals for social care reform, the prime minister has not revealed what his proposals for social care are.

The committee, which is made up of select committee chairs, is the only select committee that can call the Prime Minister to attend and answer questions on government policy.

As well as repeatedly cancelling appearances before the Commons Liaison Committee, since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Johnson has only appeared at Prime Minister’s Questions twice.

Replying to Mr Johnson’s note, Sarah Wollaston, a former Conservative MP who joined the Liberal Democrats earlier this year, wrote back, ‘Frankly, I am astonished that, at such short notice, you are refusing to face detailed scrutiny from select committee chairs tomorrow morning.

'This is the third time that you have postponed or cancelled’.

She added: ‘Our role as select committee chairs is to ask you detailed questions on behalf of the public and we planned to do so on Brexit, climate change, health and social care. It is unacceptable that you are refusing to be held to account’.

In response to the Prime Minister‘s no show, Ian Lavery MP, chair of the Labour Party, said: “Boris Johnson is a coward.’