Julian Lewis hits back at Boris Johnson after he is stripped of Conservative whip

Julian Lewis has hit out at Boris Johnson’s “improper” attempt to impose his preferred candidate as chairman of Parliament’s intelligence committee after he was ousted from the Conservatives for alleged “duplicity.” The veteran MP was on Wednesday ousted from the Conservative benches after securing the chairmanship of the Intelligence and Security Committee with the support of Labour and SNP members. His surprise candidacy blindsided Downing Street and his colleague and former Cabinet minister Chris Grayling, who had been lined up for the role. The move provoked fury within Government, with senior Tory sources accusing Mr Lewis of deceiving the Chief Whip and working with the opposition to his own advantage. There are now fears that Number 10 could attempt to remove Lewis from the committee though a resolution in the House of Commons. However, such a move would likely provoke a significant Tory rebellion. Hitting back on Thursday, Mr Lewis said that the Prime Minister had no right to select the chairman of the committee and that gave no assurances that he would vote for Mr Grayling. In a statement, he added that a request for him to vote Mr Grayling was “improper” given the vote was independent of the Government and that Number 10 had publicly denied wanting to “parachute a preferred candidate into the chair”. “It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the Government's preferred candidate,” he continued. It comes as Mr Johnson faces a mounting backlash from Conservative MPs over his treatment of Mr Lewis, who has served as an MP for 23 years. One former Cabinet minister told The Telegraph that Mr Lewis had significant expertise on defence and security matters and was a far more suitable candidate than Mr Grayling, who during his chequered ministerial career earned the nickname “Failing Grayling.” “So Failing Grayling failed, kind of goes with the reputation,” they added. The committee’s first major act will be to publish the long-awaited Russia report, which has been repeatedly held up due to last year’s election and delays in selecting the committee membership. On Thursday the committee confirmed that it would be releasing it next week, before MPs rise for the summer recess. Critics of the Government believe the report was deliberately delayed because it is likely to suggest Russian interference with the Brexit referendum.