Boris Johnson pulls teeth from ministerial code of conduct

Breaching the standards rules will no longer be a reason for a British minister to quit the ministry.

Boris Johnson visits the CityFibre Training Academy at the weekend in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Picture: Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has weakened the rules on standards in government so that ministers found guilty of breaking the ministerial code will no longer be expected to resign.

Mr Johnson, who is facing an investigation into whether he misled parliament when he denied he had breached Covid rules in Downing Street but was subsequently fined for his role in Partygate, argued it would be “disproportionate” to require ministers who breach the code to step down. Ministers will instead be asked to take a salary cut or make a public apology.

No.10 said the decision to remove the need for rule-breaking ministers to resign had been taken following consultation with the committee on standards in public life and Christopher Geidt, Mr Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial standards.

In the updated code, Mr Johnson has also refused to give Lord Geidt the power to launch his own investigations – something that had been demanded by a number of ethics bodies.

Last year, Lord Geidt led an inquiry into the funding of the makeover of Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat that ultimately absolved the Prime Minister on the basis that he was not aware that David Brownlow, a Tory donor, had given him £58,000 to help to pay for the refurbishment. Mr Johnson eventually repaid the money.

The Institute for Government, which has called for Lord Geidt’s powers to be strengthened, said that without the ability to launch his own inquiries, he could not be considered truly independent. Alistair Graham, the former chair of the committee on standards in public life, said Mr Johnson was “allergic to the rules”.

“It’s a sad day for our democratic system that a prime minister feels he has to redraft the code midterm after we’ve gone through this scandalous Partygate period,” Mr Graham said.

Despite the other alterations, the updated version of the ministerial code maintains the rule that ministers who mislead parliament must resign. Mr Johnson has also removed a section on the importance of ethics in government. In his previous foreword to the code, he had demanded that ministers behave with “integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest”.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson was “watering down the rules to save his own skin”. “Once again, Boris Johnson has demonstrated he is not serious about his pledge to address the scandal and sleaze engulfing his government or the frequent and flagrant breaches of standards and rule-breaking that have taken place on his watch,” she said.

The Times