British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed he was seeking to protect a vital national industry as he responded on Thursday to a charge he had put his ethics adviser in an impossible situation after Lord Christopher Geidt quit overnight.
Lord Geidt said he only narrowly believed he could continue in the role after the “partygate” scandal but that he could not continue after a new request which sought prior clearance for a ministerial decision to impose tariffs in what could be a breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
“This week, however, 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,” he wrote. “This placed me in an impossible and odious position.”
Mr Johnson said Lord Geidt’s resignation “came as a surprise”, a letter from the prime minister revealed.
“My intention was to seek your advice on the national interest in protecting a crucial industry, which is protected in other European countries and would suffer material harm if we do not continue to apply such tariffs,” he said. “This has in the past had cross party support. It would be in line with our domestic law but might be seen to conflict with our obligations under the WTO.”
By asking for this advice, Lord Geidt believed that the prime minister was making a mockery of the ministerial code itself and the adviser's position untenable.
“My informal response on Monday was that you and any other minister should justify openly your position vis-a-vis the Code in such circumstances,” he said. “However, the idea that a prime minister might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own Code is an affront.
“A deliberate breach, or even an intention to do so, would be to suspend the provisions of the code to suit a political end. 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.”
The former private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II became the second ministerial interests adviser to resign during Mr Johnson’s three years in office when a brief statement was published on Wednesday evening.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab suggested on Thursday that Lord Geidt's decision had been triggered by intense questioning at a parliamentary committee earlier in the week.
Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, suggested a “pretty rough” appearance before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday could have contributed to Lord Geidt’s departure.
Only a day earlier, the adviser declined to deny to MPs that he had considered resigning over Mr Johnson’s response to being fined for breaching lockdown rules at Downing Street parties.
Lord Geidt told the public administration and constitutional affairs committee that he had felt “frustration” about the "partygate" scandal.
“I am glad that the prime minister was able to respond to my report and, in doing so, addressed aspects of the things about which I was clearly frustrated,” he told the committee.
“Resignation is one of the rather blunt but few tools available to the adviser. I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were.”
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reads the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, at his Downing Street office. Photo: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street -
Photographers surround No 10 Downing Street as Mr Johnson departs for the Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, on Wednesday morning. Getty Images -
The long-awaited report into the Partygate scandal has blamed Mr Johnson and senior officials for failures of leadership at the heart of the British government. EPA -
June 19, 2020: A gathering in the Cabinet Room at No 10 Downing Street, on the prime minister's birthday. Photo: Cabinet Office -
June 19, 2020: The prime minister during the gathering, which was held while lockdown rules were in force across the UK. Photo: Cabinet Office -
November 13, 2020: A gathering at No 10 Downing Street, on the departure of a special adviser. Photo: Cabinet Office -
Mr Johnson apologises to MPs in the House of Commons in London, in April, having been fined after a police probe for attending a party during coronavirus lockdowns imposed by his own government. AFP -
The prime minister was no more than 30 seconds into his speech when the first shout of 'resign' was heard from the opposition benches, followed by 'you’re an embarrassment' and 'just go'. Reuters -
'I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day to repeat my wholehearted apology to the House,' he said, admitting that 'people had a right to expect better of their prime minister'. AFP -
The prime minister, pictured with a birthday cake baked for him by school staff at Bovingdon Primary Academy in Hemel Hempstead, said it ‘didn't occur’ to him that a gathering on June 19, 2020, to mark his 56th birthday broke coronavirus rules. AFP -
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, left, was also fined for attending lockdown parties held in and around Downing Street. AFP -
Mr Johnson is the first sitting prime minister to be censured for breaking the law, sparking calls from all sides of Parliament, including some in his own party, to step down. Reuters -
A lone protester demonstrates outside No 10 Downing Street in London. EPA -
Before the war broke out in Ukraine, Mr Johnson appeared vulnerable to the partygate controversy. He has been praised for his response to the conflict, which may offer him some protection from critics, and he visited Kyiv last weekend in what he called a show of support for the country. AFP -
Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie applaud for key health workers outside No 10 Downing Street in May 2020. Getty Images -
The prime minister makes a statement in the House of Commons in January, on Ms Gray's report regarding the Downing Street parties during lockdown. Reuters -
A journalist highlights sections of the report by civil servant Sue Gray into parties held at Downing Street. AFP -
Mr Johnson is understood to have been present at six of at least 12 events being investigated. One occurred on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, at which Queen Elizabeth II had to grieve away from other mourners because of social distancing protocols. Getty Images
Lord Geidt had reportedly threatened to quit last month after the publication of the Sue Gray report into lockdown breaches in Whitehall — unless Mr Johnson issued a public explanation for his conduct.
Sir Alex Allan quit as the prime minister's adviser on ministers' interests in 2020 after Mr Johnson refused to accept his finding that Home Secretary Priti Patel had bullied civil servants
Labour renewed its calls for Mr Johnson to resign, accusing him of having “driven both of his own hand-picked ethics advisers to resign in despair”.
Former cabinet secretary Lord Turnbull has said Mr Johnson is “not worthy” of office and suggested Tories should work to overthrow him.
The cross-bench peer, who was the most senior civil servant between 2002-2005, told BBC's Newsnight: “It’s going to be solved when enough of his backbenchers can summon up the courage to decide that he’s not a man of sufficient integrity that they want as their leader.
“The issue still remains that in the opinion of many people, myself included, he’s not worthy of the office.”
