MPs approve a plan to open an investigation into whether the prime minister misled the House on lockdown parties
The Commons "nodded through" Labour's plan to start a probe by the privileges committee
This means there was no opposition to it, rather than there being a formal vote
Earlier, the government dropped an attempt to try to delay it by adding an amendment
Boris Johnson was fined last week by police for breaking Covid laws
The prime minister, who is in India, told reporters he was "very keen for every possible form of scrutiny" and denied misleading Parliament
Opposition parties have accused him of lying to Parliament after he previously told MPs no rules had been broken
Labour's Sir Keir Starmer says the PM could be found to have broken the law "again and again and again"
That's all from us on a day in which MPs voted for a committee to launch an investigation into whether the prime minister misled Parliament.
This live coverage was written by Jennifer Scott, Richard Morris and Doug Faulkner and sub-edited by Lauren Turner. The editor was Rob Corp.
Thanks for joining us.
A day that started out with a government attempt to delay the vote on a probe into whether the prime minister misled Parliament has ended with MPs nodding through that investigation.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has released a statement to the media following today's vote. He says:
Quote MessageBoris Johnson has lost the trust of the public over parties held in Downing Street during lockdown. Now it’s clear he has lost the confidence of his MPs. Today’s humiliating climb-down showed that they know they can no longer defend the indefensible... it has never been more clear that Boris Johnson's authority is shot and he is unable to lead."
Arguments for and against holding an inquiry into whether the prime minister misled Parliament were heard by MPs this afternoon.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats says Tory MPs "were too embarrassed" to back Boris Johnson today, but are also "too weak to sack him".
Sir Ed Davey told BBC News that the UK needs the PM "gone" so someone who has "the trust of the British people" can lead on issues like the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
"The truth is this prime minister has lost people's confidence," he adds.
"This is a prime minister who frankly isn't up to the job."
Helen Catt
Political correspondent
The lead-up was chaotic; the moment the motion passed was something of an anti-climax.
The significance of what it means, though, is huge: Boris Johnson will become the first prime minister to be investigated for claims he deliberately misled Parliament.
In a political system that largely relies on trust and honesty, that is a big deal.
Pulling the amendment, and not objecting to Labour’s motion, saved the Conservatives from the temporary embarrassment of some of their own MPs abstaining or even voting with the opposition.
It also saved individual MPs from the prospect of opposition attacks if they had voted to block the investigation.
The chaotic circumstances of the government’s U-turn in itself though suggested an embarrassing lack of grip on the party from Downing Street.
Any respite will also be temporary.
Firstly, the investigation guarantees that the rows over Partygate will go on even after the police investigation has finished and the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray has been published.
And if Boris Johnson gets through both of those, the investigation opens the door to a possible new moment of peril for the PM, if he were to be found to have misled Parliament and then be sanctioned.
David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent
When we heard the deputy speaker ask MPs their opinion on Labour's motion in the Commons, no-one opposed it.
It is quite a U-turn from the position of the Conservatives earlier on, who just last night wanted to put their own amendment through to delay the vote entirely.
Now, it means Labour's proposal, which asks a parliamentary committee to investigate whether or not Boris Johnson misled MPs at any point in the whole Partygate saga has now gone through.
Boris Johnson has told the BBC the change in position was because of him not wanting to give the impression he was trying to avoid any type of scrutiny whatsoever.
But perhaps a less empathetic reading of this could be that the Conservatives were worried about rebellions - not necessarily about losing that vote altogether, but perhaps thinking there could be a few awkward votes or abstentions from their own benches.
But the bottom line is the motion has passed and there will now be an investigation by the House of Commons privileges committee.
Image source, HoCAfter a day which began with the government attempting to delay a vote on holding a Commons inquiry into the PM, it all finished with a bit of a fizzle, rather than reaching a level of fever-pitch excitement.
It looked as though the government were seeking to change Labour's motion this morning, putting any investigation into whether the prime minister misled parliament to a future unspecified date.
Moments before the debate started, the government said they wouldn't be putting forward their amendment. As the afternoon went on, Conservative MPs were told they no longer had to vote to help Boris Johnson, the three-line whip was removed, and slowly the Tory benches got quieter as the debate wore on.
We didn't even get a full vote. Opposition, and some Conservative MPs, will have shouted yes to whether or not to open an investigation. No-one shouted no to the motion.
At that point, it was passed, without any formal 15-minute window for MPs to cast their vote in the division lobbies.
Bear in mind, this does not mean the investigation will start straight away. The motion specifically said the investigation should start after the publication of the Sue Gray report. That report will not be published until the Metropolitan Police has finished its investigation and issued fixed penalty notices.
This story could go on for some time yet.
Joseph Cassidy
BBC Political Research Unit
Now that the Commons vote has passed the committee will investigate and produce a report stating whether or not they believe a contempt has been committed against the House - ie did Boris Johnson deliberately mislead Parliament.
If they find that he did mislead MPs, they can recommend a sanction within the disciplinary powers of the House.
The most significant of these are admonishment (censure), suspension for any number of days up until the end of this Parliament or expulsion from the House entirely.
There is also a possibility that they could recommend an apology on the floor of the House.
Once they have completed their report and recommended any sanction, it is voted on by the House as a whole to decide whether to accept the findings.
MPs have voted, without any opposition from the government benches, to open the investigation into the PM, as Labour outlined in their motion.
There were no cries of "no" from the government benches, so there is no formal 15-minute division on the matter.
With that, the House of Commons moves on to the adjournment debate for the day.
Helen Catt
Political correspondent
After all of today’s twist and turns, it could be that there is no vote after all.
If no MP objects to the motion when it’s read out at the end of the debate, then it’ll just be what’s known as “nodded through”.
That means it will pass, but MPs won’t have to vote on it individually.
In theory, it’s unlikely now there would be objections from the Conservative benches.
But an opposition MP could always shout out to force a vote.
A Labour shadow minister tells me their party won’t do that though.
We will find out after these wind-up speeches...
The minister points to Sir Keir Starmer's speech at the start of the debate, when he said principles should be the focus.
But he says Labour MPs talked about drafting attack adverts in their constituencies.
Ellis also says the Labour leader corrected the record for misleading the House himself before launching the debate.
Then "in the same breath" he launched a motion about whether the PM misled the House.
He adds: "At no time does the prime minister say that this issue is not important, it is important, and other things are also important" - including the war in Ukraine.
Ellis says the reason they put forward their motion was to ensure any inquiry didn't happen until after the police investigation and Sue Gray's report.
"In practice this is almost certainly likely to be the case," he adds - so the government are happy for Labour's motion to go through, if MPs agree.
But again, he points to Boris Johnson's repeated apologies, saying he was "mortified" and wishes the clock could be turned back.
And the Tory minister says the PM has been getting on with his job in the meantime.
Image source, HoCIn the final contribution to today's debate, it falls to Paymaster General Michael Ellis to wrap things up for the government.
He begins by saying the government recognises the seriousness of the issue.
And he says the PM has "always been clear" to face any scrutiny MPs see fit.
In the last 24 hours, the government has tried every trick in the book to kick this down the road, Angela Rayner says.
"But they have run out of road," she says, adding that it is now decision time.
She says actions speak louder than words and asks what Conservative members will do.
Labour's deputy leader says that those who vote against the motion will be "defending the indefensible".
Angela Rayner says the prime minister has broken the rules "while expecting everyone around him to follow them".
When his then adviser Allegra Stratton joked about Downing Street parties, the PM accepted her resignation, she says. She also points to the examples of Prof Neil Ferguson and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who resigned when they were found to have broken the rules.
"Why does the prime minister think everyone else's actions have consequences except his?" she asks.
Angela Rayner continues quoting Green MP Caroline Lucas to say that the war in Ukraine is "no reason to put our democratic standards on hold today".
She says parties and prime ministers will come and go but "the basic principle that elected representatives must tell the truth and act with integrity remain the foundation of our democracy".
She adds that the PM and his supporters have tested these principles to the limit.
Rayner says that if Conservative MPs choose to stand by Boris Johnson then they "send a very clear message that they don't care about their duty to uphold the rule of law".
Image source, HoCLabour deputy leader Angela Rayner steps up to close the Commons debate from the opposition.
She says MPs have spoken about the principles of "integrity, honesty and dignity which are all at stake".
Name-checking several MPs, Rayner says that all members have a responsibility to uphold democratic principles no matter which party they are from.
"This is not about cake but about trust," she says.
Sunak on Partygate fine, US green card, family finances and non-dom status
A little earlier we brought you comments from Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he apologised for being fined for his presence at Downing Street on the prime minister's birthday in June 2020.
You can hear what he has to say in his wide-ranging first TV interview since paying that fine.
MPs are to vote later on whether the privileges committee will investigate whether Boris Johnson misled parliament in his comments about parties held during Covid restrictions.
The prime minister has already paid a fixed penalty notice for attending a gathering on 19 June 2020.
The PM told parliament that "the rules were followed at all times" when asked about the 13 November party - and after a video emerged of staff joking about a Christmas party he said he had been assured there had been no party.
As well as the events which the prime minister is known to have attended, there have been several others which he is not thought to have been present at.
Image source, .