Boris Johnson, 59, quits as a Conservative Prime Minister after becoming a citizen of the First Lord’s Benchmark, LONDON
Johnson resigned hours after King Charles III rewarded loyal Johnson aides and allies with knighthoods and other honors, a political tradition for former prime ministers that drew cries of cronyism from opponents of the ousted leader.
“Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly 50 years, that majority is now clearly at risk,” Johnson said. “Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”
He avoided a suspension that would have seen him ousted from his Commons seat by his own people and he’s free to run for Parliament again. His resignation statement stated that he was thinking about that option. Sunak served as Treasury chief in the Johnson government before jumping ship in July 2022, forcing him out, and it was highly critical of him.
The committee had been expected to publish its report in the next few weeks, and Johnson could have faced suspension from the House of Commons if he was found to have lied deliberately.
He told the committee that he believed all five of the events he attended, including a send-off for the staffer and his own birthday party, were legal work gatherings intended to boost the morale of staff members who are tired from a deadly epidemic.
Police eventually issued 126 fines over the late-night soirees, boozy parties and “wine time Fridays,” including one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
He was waiting for the House of Commons standards committee to make a decision regarding his misleading statements he made to Parliament about gatherings in government buildings in 2020.
Johnson, whose career has been a roller coaster of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019 but was forced out by his own party less than three years later.
The Privileges Committee are going to use proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament according to a letter Johnson received.
LONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament. He quit with a ferocious tirade at his political opponents — and at his successor, Rishi Sunak — that could blast open tensions within the governing Conservative Party.
His allies describe him as a political titan who was treated badly, but Johnson left out hope that he might one day return to frontline politics. He has recovered from scandals before, and opponents know that he is not going to go away from public life for long.
The ongoing inquiry into Johnson began to dominate U.K. politics as well as force a recall vote for Johnson’s parliamentary seat.
For months, photographs and other evidence about parties were piled up, angering a British citizens wounded by over 200,000 COVID-19 deaths and disgusted by the hypocrisy of those in power.
Controversies centered around those in Downing Street — including Johnson — dominated Britain’s politics, frustrating his legislative agenda and further fragmenting the Conservatives.
But soon after, the pandemic upended his premiership, and his own personal behavior became problematic for much of the public, and many in Parliament too.
He led his party to victory in the general election, which allowed him to force through Britain’s exit from the European Union after he helped oust Theresa May.
Inconsistencies in Boris Johnson’s “lockdown parties”: a response to the “Ethics Investigation” by Sunak and Johnson
He and others — including current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — had previously received criminal fines for their behavior during the pandemic. Johnson insists that his incorrect and misleading account of the “lockdown parties” he denied has not amounted to intentional lies.
The ethics investigation into Boris Johnson, the former British Prime Minister, will result in a report regarding his behavior as leader of the british government next week.