UK PM Boris Johnson’s ethics chief resigns in wake of partygate

Paying a fixed-penalty notice is not a criminal conviction, he said.Geidt was also critical in his report about having repeatedly counselled the Prime Ministers advisers that he must offer a public comment on his obligations under his own Ministerial Code, a breach of which usually leads to a ministers resignation.It had been reported at the time that Geidt had threatened to quit after the publication of the Sue Gray report into lockdown breaches in Downing Street unless Johnson issued a public explanation for his conduct.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's independent ethics adviser Lord Christopher Geidt has resigned in the wake of the partygate scandal of COVID lockdown-breaching parties at Downing Street.

Geidt, the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests who reported directly to the Prime Minister in an advisory capacity, handed in his resignation to Johnson on Wednesday evening.

Amid pressure to reveal the exact reason behind the resignation, Downing Street published his resignation letter to Johnson, which claims he was put in an "impossible and odious" position over another matter since the partygate scandal.

"I was tasked to offer a view about the government's intention to consider measures which risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the Ministerial Code. This request has placed me in an impossible and odious position," Geidt said in his resignation letter.

"My informal response on Monday was that you and any other minister should justify openly your position vis-à-vis the Code in such circumstances. However, the idea that a Prime Minister might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own Code is an affront… This would make a mockery not only of respect for the Code but licence the suspension of its provisions in governing the conduct of Her Majesty's ministers. I can have no part in this," he said.

In response, Johnson's letter sought to highlight that he was simply seeking Geidt's ''advice on the national interest in protecting a crucial industry''.

His letter indicates the advice relates to trade matters which were "in line with domestic law but might be seen to conflict with our obligations under the WTO".

"In seeking your advice before any decision was taken, I was looking to ensure that we acted properly with due regard to the Ministerial Code," said Johnson.

Earlier, Geidt had issued just a brief resignation statement saying that he felt it right to step down from the post of Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

The resignation took Downing Street by surprise and followed the 2020 exit of Sir Alex Allan, his predecessor in the role, and the resignation of the British Prime Minister's anti-corruption champion, John Penrose, last week.

Geidt's resignation letter also makes a reference to the contentious partygate issue, expressing his disappointment that Johnson's response on the matter had not been "fuller".

He also took note of Johnson's reference to "miscommunication" between their offices in the matter and indicated that he was prepared to resign at the time but stayed on "by a very small margin".

Meanwhile, the Opposition parties renewed their partygate attack on the government over this latest development.

''The Prime Minister has now driven both of his own handpicked ethics advisers to resign in despair. If even they can't defend his conduct in office, how can anyone believe he is fit to govern,'' said Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.

''When both of Boris Johnson's own ethics advisers have quit, it is obvious that he is the one who needs to go,'' questioned Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain.

Last month, in an annual report on ministerial interests, Geidt had noted that a "legitimate question" has arisen as to the fixed penalty notice issued by the Metropolitan Police over a COVID lockdown-breaching birthday party at Downing Street in June 2020. His report called on Johnson to set out his "case in public".

''I did not consider that the circumstances in which I received a fixed-penalty notice were contrary to the regulations,'' Johnson said in a letter of explanation to Geidt, which was made public.

''I have accepted the outcome and paid it in compliance with legal requirements. Paying a fixed-penalty notice is not a criminal conviction,'' he said.

Geidt was also critical in his report about having repeatedly counselled the Prime Minister's advisers that he must offer a public comment on his obligations under "his own" Ministerial Code, a breach of which usually leads to a minister's resignation.

It had been reported at the time that Geidt had threatened to quit after the publication of the Sue Gray report into lockdown breaches in Downing Street unless Johnson issued a public explanation for his conduct.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)