Global Courant
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is stepping down as a legislator after being told he will be punished for defrauding parliament.
Johnson quit after receiving the results of an investigation by lawmakers into misleading statements he made about “partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the pandemic.
His lengthy resignation statement included a savage diatribe against his political opponents – and against his successor, Rishi Sunak – that could explode tensions within the ruling Conservative Party.
In the statement, Johnson accused his opponents of driving him out — and hinted he might try to return.
“It is very sad to leave parliament – at least for now,” he said.
A protester holds up placards denouncing Johnson outside Parliament in London on March 22. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press)
Johnson said he had “received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear – to my surprise – that they are determined to use the procedure against me to drive me out of Parliament.”
He called the commission a “kangaroo court.”
“From the start, their goal was to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” Johnson said.
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace him as MP for a seat in a suburb of London.
LOOK | Johnson grilled about COVID-19 lockdown parties:
Boris Johnson grilled about COVID-19 lockdown parties
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson clashed with MPs at a hearing about partying in Downing Street while the rest of the country was on lockdown. The scandal, which drove Johnson out of the prime minister’s office, could now kick him out of parliament.
Johnson, whose career has been a rollercoaster 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.
He awaited the outcome of an investigation by a House of Commons standards committee into misleading statements he made to parliament about a slew of meetings in government buildings in 2020 and 2021 that violated pandemic lockdown rules.
Police eventually issued 126 fines for late-night soirees, boozy parties and wine time Fridays, including one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
Johnson facing possible suspension
Johnson has admitted to misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers no rules had been broken, but said he did not do so intentionally.
He told the committee he “honestly believed” the five events he attended, including a farewell to a staffer and his own surprise birthday party, were “legitimate work gatherings” designed to boost morale among overworked staff dealing with with a deadly pandemic.
The committee is expected to publish its report in the coming weeks, and Johnson could be suspended by the House of Commons if it was found that he had deliberately lied.
By quitting, he avoids a suspension that could have driven him from his seat in the House of Commons by his constituents, leaving him free to run for parliament again.
His resignation statement suggested he was considering that option and was highly critical of Sunak, who served as head of finance in Johnson’s government before abandoning ship with many other colleagues in July 2022 – moves that forced Johnson to leave.
“Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk,” Johnson said. “Our party urgently needs to regain its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”
Johnson resigned hours after King Charles III awarded loyal Johnson aides and allies with knighthoods and other honors, a political tradition for former prime ministers that provoked favoritism among the deposed leader’s opponents.
