Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser has asked him to explain why he believes he has not breached the ministerial code after being fined for breaching confinement.
Lord Geidt said there was a “legitimate question” about whether the code had been breached, which would normally mean a minister would have to resign.
“It may be that the prime minister considers that there has been no such breach of his ministerial code. In that case, I think a prime minister should respond accordingly, stating his case in public,” he added.
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In an exchange of letters, the prime minister replied that “there was no intention of breaking the [COVID] regulations”.
“I did not consider the circumstances in which I received a fixed penalty notice to be contrary to the rules,” Johnson responded.
“I have accepted the result and have paid it in accordance with legal requirements. Paying a fixed penalty notice is not a criminal conviction.”
Lord Geidt said he had repeatedly told the prime minister to explain publicly why he thought incurring a fixed penalty notice would not breach the code of conduct for ministers, but said: “That advice has not been heeded.”
He said the prime minister had “not made a single public reference to the ministerial code”.
Lord Geidt also criticized the prime minister for refusing to give him the freedom to launch his own investigations into possible breaches and said he would still need the prime minister’s consent before proceeding.
Last week, Mr. Johnson was accused of watering down the ministerial code after the government said it was being updated to make it clear that ministers will not necessarily have to resign for more minor breaches.
Instead, the prime minister will have the option of imposing lesser sanctions such as “some form of public apology, corrective action, or removal of ministerial salary for a period.”
Labor Party deputy chairwoman Angela Rayner said there was a “legitimate question” about whether the prime minister breached ministerial code after he was fined for partygate.
“The prime minister’s second ethics adviser has now threatened to resign, in the latest sign of the rampant sleaze engulfing Downing Street,” he said.
“This is a prime minister who changed the rules while being investigated for breaking those very rules. He has made himself judge and jury in his own trial, giving himself a free pass to trample on British values of decency.
“As much as he tries to bend the rules and evade scrutiny, the prime minister has been found out and his days are numbered.”
Liberal Democrats leader Wendy Chamberlain said: “This scathing criticism shows that even Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser no longer trusts him to tell the truth. He is unfit to hold public office.”
“It’s no wonder the prime minister has been trying to water down the ministerial code and rewrite the rules. The only person he cares about is himself.
“The net is really closing around Johnson. He missed the boat to do the decent thing and resign, now Conservative MPs must fire him.”
It comes after 28 Conservative MPs have publicly called for the prime minister’s resignation for the partygate scandal.
A total of 41 Conservative MPs have expressed dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister’s handling of partygate, according to a Sky News tally, but 28 have actually called on him to resign.
Reference-news.sky.com