London: Former British Prime Minister (UK PM) Boris Johnson suddenly resigned as an MP today. He resigned after a parliamentary committee said that he could be banned for misleading the Parliament about throwing parties at the Prime Minister’s residence in violation of the lockdown rules.
- Partying became heavy during the lockdown, after the Prime Ministership now also lost the MP post
- Resigned after report of Parliament’s Privileges Committee, claiming he was the victim of retaliation
Johnson resigned today after receiving a confidential letter written by Parliament’s Privileges Committee, but he likened the committee’s inquiry to a kangaroo court and said he was the victim of vindictiveness. The 58-year-old Johnson, who is the leader of Britain’s conservative party, is the main architect of Brexit. During the coronavirus pandemic, when strict lockdown rules were in force, he broke these rules and held a party at the Prime Minister’s residence. There was a lot of uproar when this came out and he finally had to resign as Prime Minister over this issue. And he also resigned as a Member of Parliament today after the Privileges Committee report.
After giving evidence to the Privileges Committee in March, Johnson admitted he had misled Parliament but said he had not done so deliberately. Regarding the parties, he said that these were essential work events which were allowed but also said that social distancing rules were not properly followed in these events held at the Prime Minister’s residence. The present Prime Minister and then Finance Minister Rishi Sunak was also fined by the Metropolitan Police last year for participating in these gatherings.