West Dorset MP Chris Loder said he did not take part in a vote on the Commons Privileges Committee's report into Boris Johnson and his statements to the house on Partygate, because it would achieve nothing except "dragging out this soap opera". 

Conservative Mr Loder was among 225 MPs not to vote on the report on Monday, which recommended that the former Prime Minister should be suspended for 90 days, and that his parliamentary pass should be removed.

Mr Johnson resigned as an MP on June 9 before the report went before the House of Commons.

Several constituents have criticised and questioned why Mr Loder did not vote on the matter.

He commented: "Over this last weekend, I read the sizeable final report issued by the House of Commons Privileges Committee concerning the conduct of Boris Johnson. It concluded two things: 1) That the former member of parliament should be suspended by 90 days; 2) and that his parliamentary pass should be removed.

"The report's recommendation, that Boris Johnson should be suspended as an MP, was satisfied prior to the report's release when he resigned on June 9.

"To vote for an outcome which has already been actioned achieves nothing – other than dragging out this soap opera – which of course is what some activists want, but most people are tired of it.

"Using six hours of parliamentary time to debate and vote on something which had no action was, in my opinion, not a good use of that time. That is why, whilst I was present in the House; I did not vote, because it would have achieved nothing either way."

In July 2022, Mr Loder said he had "lost faith" in Boris Johnson, just before his resignation as Prime Minister amid increasing pressure following accusations of 'patygate' and against the government's deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

Mr Loder has and others who did not take part in the voter have been criticised by the Liberal Democrat's parliamentary candidate for the West Dorset constituency, Edward Morello.

He said: "At the heart of [Monday's] vote was the question of what kind of democracy we want in this country. Will we accept that it is okay for the holder of the highest office in the land to knowingly lie to parliament and to the British people?

"The behaviour of the current crop of Conservative politicians has already reduced the public's view of politics and politicians to an all-time low.

"Given the opportunity to demonstrate their belief in the importance of truth in politics, 225 MPs, including West Dorset's, chose to abstain or not vote. It is a sad indictment of how far Conservative MP's have strayed from the values they claim to espouse.

"I hope for the good of the country that the Parliamentary Conservative Party rediscovers some moral fibre and calls a General Election so they can be replaced by new MPs who will work to rebuild trust in our institutions. Britain deserves better."