The fair-minded observer would know that the Committee on Privileges acts only when a matter is referred to it by the House of Commons.
Johnson was referred in April 2022 - Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges - Hansard - UK Parliament.
The observer would also know that the committee may only investigate the referred matter and report its findings back to the House. The decision about what to do as a result of the report rests entirely with the House. The committee's final report was issued 15 June 2023 - Matter referred on 21 April 2022 (conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson): Final Report (parliament.uk).
Between April 2022 and June 2023 the committee received advice
Read the Judiciary announcement (HERE) and the Press Release from the Prime Minister's Office.
The announcements supply all the detail required as to the appointment process and Dame Carr's biography.
Suffice it to say here that Dame Carr is the first female to be appointed to this pre-eminent judicial office the origins of which are traceable back to the early 13th century and possibly before.
Northern Ireland and Scotland:
The current Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is Dame Siobhan Keegan who was appointed from 2 September 2021.
Scotland's senior judges are the Lord Justice General (Lord Carloway) and Lord Justice Clerk (Lady Dorrian - appointed 2016). (Scotland does not use the title Lord Chief Justice or Chief Justice).
Other Commonwealth nations:
The Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 until 2017 was Beverley McLachlin.
The Chief Justice of Australia is Susan Kiefel appointed from 30 January 2017.
The Chief Justice of New Zealand is Helen Winkelmann appointed from 14 March 2018.
Such a case is that of 44 year old a mother, Carla Foster, who was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment for administering poison with intent to procure a miscarriage. The offence was committed during the Covid-19 “lockdown” period in 2020.
The sentence is controversial and has received considerable comment on Twitter. Some see the 28 months as correct and others argue that some way ought to have been found to impose a suspended sentence order.
According to the judge (Mr Justice Pepperall), Carla Foster is a ‘good mother’ to three children one of whom has ‘special needs’ and is ‘particularly reliant on’ Carla ‘for love and support.’ She had no previous convictions.
Here are the sentencing remarks - R -v- Foster - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
The baby whose life was terminated was,
The most notable of them is former Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Uxbridge and Ruislip South).
The other two are Nadine Dorries (mid Bedfordshire) and Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty).
In the December 2019 General Election, Johnson won his seat with 25,351 votes as against Labour's candidate (18,141), the Liberal Democrat (3026) and 9 other candidates. In the current state of national politics, this seat appears to be winnable by Labour.
Dorries won an enormous majority - 38,692 votes to Labour (14,028), Liberal Democrat (8171), Green (2478) and two other candidates. Adams secured a large majority with 33,995 votes to Labour (13,858), Liberal Democraft (4842), the Yorkshire Party (1900) and Green (1823). Perhaps those seats will remain with the Conservatives (with reduced majorities) but Labour will certainly be hoping to win the seats.
An interesting fact is that Under a Resolution of the House of Commons dated 2 March 1624, Members of Parliament cannot directly resign their seat. A sitting MP has to apply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for one of two ancient "offices" - either Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds or Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. The process is described at -
Resignation from the House of Commons - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
It is possible that the Chancellor might refuse an application but that is unlikely and has not actually happened since 1842. The last person to be refused either office was Viscount Chelsea, who was refused the Chiltern Hundreds in 1842. This was due to suspicions that money had changed hands to influence the result of the by-election which would have followed his appointment.
Once an MP has gone, a by-election usually follows but that cannot happen until a WRIT is moved by the House of Commons. By-elections are explained at - By-elections - UK Parliament
A motion to issue a writ is left to the Chief Whip of the party whose MP held the now vacant seat.
Occasionally, Members have resigned their seats and then fought the ensuing by-election.
State of the parties - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament
Note 12 June 2023:
Three Hundreds of Chiltern - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) - Johnson appointed Steward.
Manor of Northstead - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) - Adams appointed Steward
Johnson referred to the Committee on Privileges:
In April 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was referred by the House of Commons (where the Conservative Party has a large majority) to the House of Commons Committee on Privileges (which has a Conservative majority but is chaired by Opposition MP Harriet Harman)..
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges - Hansard - UK Parliament.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Police had issued Fixed Penalty Notices in connection with events at No. 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office. Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and others accepted the notices.
In the House of Commons, Johnson asserted on several occasions either that "all guidance was followed" or that he had been "repeatedly assured" that "no Covid rules were broken."
The House asked the committee to consider whether Johnson's conduct amounted to contempt of the House.
