SHAMELESS PM BINS ‘LIE & YOU MUST GO’ RULE
Shock move as more Tories hit out
BORIS Johnson last night watered down the Ministerial Code and denied his ethics adviser more investigatory powers.
Under the Prime Minister’s new version of the Code, ministers can break rules without resigning.
Instead, they could face having to make a public apology, “remedial action” or “removal of ministerial salary for a period”.
Mr Johnson’s new version of ministers’ rules comes just days after Sue Gray’s report slammed No10’s leadership over Partygate.
The PM currently faces an investigation into whether he lied to the Commons – a Code breach.
Previously, it was expected that any minister who broke the Code should offer their resignation.
The revised Code no longer mentions the key principles of integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest.
A rule stating ministers must “uphold the very highest standards of propriety” has also gone. And the PM denied his ethics advisor Lord Geidt the power to launch probes independently.
Yesterday, MP Paul Holmes quit as Home Secretary Priti Patel’s aide, citing No10’s “toxic culture”.
Six more Tory MPs have also told Mr Johnson he should resign.
Labour’s Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson’s “lies to Parliament” about “rule-breaking at the heart of Government” had been exposed.
She added: “He should be tendering his resignation but is instead watering down the rules to save his own skin.”
Chris Bryant, chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, said: “‘If you break the rules, just rewrite the rule book’, is the motto of this despicable government.”
■ Cleaners and security guards last night protested at No10 over their poor treatment during Partygate.
THE Ministerial Code is the rule book that governs the behaviour of those in power.
Boris Johnson yesterday took this document and effectively put it in the shredder.
In his new version, ministers who break the code will not automatically be expected to quit.
Mr Johnson is being investigated by MPs for repeatedly misleading Parliament over Downing Street parties, an offence that used to be a resignation issue. Faced with the prospect of a red card he has not just nobbled the referee but doctored the rules of the game.
The PM has also blocked the ethics watchdog from launching its own investigations and rewritten the foreword to the Code to strike out a commitment to uphold the very highest standards of propriety.
It is entirely in keeping with his loathing for accountability that in a cowardly move he slipped out these changes on a Friday afternoon when the Commons is not sitting.
After the Sue Gray report, a “humbled” PM said he had learned his lesson.
The only lesson he appears to have learned is that he is free to abuse power and bend the rules to his own advantage.