Ethics chief quit over bid to save steel jobs
Lord Geidt accused No 10 of putting him in ‘odious position’ — after being asked to approve new tariffs to help UK industry
DOWNING Street is said to be astonished by the resignation of Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser, after he stormed out of government in protest at plans to levy tariffs on cheap Chinese steel.
Lord Geidt quit in mysterious circumstances on Wednesday night after barely a year in the role, saying only it was ‘right I am resigning’.
In his resignation letter released yesterday, he claimed he had been left in an ‘impossible and odious position’ after being asked to sign off measures which ‘risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code’.
Lord Geidt did not spell out the details of the potentially serious charge.
But in his response to the resignation letter, Mr Johnson revealed the matter concerned measures to protect a ‘ crucial industry, which is protected in other European countries and would suffer material harm if we do not continue to apply such tariffs’.
Whitehall sources said the row related to a potential decision to extend tariffs on cheap Chinese steel which are due to expire at the end of this month.
Downing Street has been taken aback by Lord Geidt’s decision to storm out of a post he has only held since April last year.
One source suggested he had resigned after being ‘ publicly humiliated’ by MPs during a Commons hearing this week in which the former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described him as a ‘tin of whitewash’.
The source said the steel tariffs were ‘in the national interest’ and would protect British jobs, adding: ‘We’re happy to be judged on that in the Red Wall.’
The move, which would protect British jobs, would potentially break World Trade Organisation rules. Lord Geidt was consulted because of the risk it could create a technical breach of the ministerial code which requires ministers to obey the law at all times.
Jacob Young, Tory MP for the former steelworking town of Redcar, said the Prime Minister did not appear to have done anything wrong to trigger the departure of his ethics adviser, adding: ‘I support a government that supports our steel industry.’
Labour risked allegations of hypocrisy by seizing on Lord Geidt’s resignation as evidence of wrongdoing at No 10 while backing the plan for steel tariffs.
The party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner claimed there were now ‘no ethics left in the Downing Street regime’.
But earlier, shadow trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds had urged the Government to move faster on extending steel tariffs.
A Tory source described Labour’s response as ‘typically two-faced’.
Lord Geidt is the second ethics adviser to quit since Mr Johnson became prime minister.
His predecessor Sir Alex Allan resigned in November 2020 when Home Secretary Priti Patel was cleared of breaching the ministerial code after allegations of bullying.
Downing Street sources last night acknowledged it may take some time to find another highprofile figure to take on such a sensitive role. No 10 said Mr Johnson was reviewing whether or not to fill the position at all.
But Tory MP Richard Graham last night urged the Prime Minister not to leave the role vacant, saying the appointment of an ethics adviser was vital in ‘rebuilding trust’ following Partygate.
Lord Geidt has been rumoured to be on the brink of resignation for months following behind-thescenes clashes with the Prime Minister over Partygate and the lavish redecoration of his flat.
Sir Alex last night told the BBC that the steel issue had been the ‘final straw’ for his successor.
‘Boris hasn’t done anything wrong’