Global Courant
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by stepping down as a legislator after being told he will face punishment for defrauding parliament.
Johnson quit after receiving the results of an investigation by lawmakers into misleading statements he made to parliament about “partygate.”
In a statement, he accused opponents of trying to drive him out.
He 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.”
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as legislator for a seat in a suburb of London.
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.
The committee was expected to publish its report in the coming weeks, and Johnson could have been suspended from the House of Commons if it was found that he had deliberately lied.
