Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson quits parliament, tackles Sunak

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson resigned as a member of the parliament on Friday.

– Key points to note

Mr Johnson quit after receiving the report of a parliamentary investigation that found he misled Parliament about a series of parties at government property that broke COVID-19 lockdown rules.

In a scathing statement, Boris Johnson, 58, accused his opponents of trying to oust him. “It is very sad to be leaving Parliament—at least for now,” he said, suggesting he may seek to return to politics in the future.

Mr Johnson said he had “received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear — much to my amazement — that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament.”

He called the committee a “kangaroo court.”

“Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” he said.

– Scandals and comebacks

The boisterous Mr Johnson, whose career has seen a series of scandals and comebacks, became PM in 2019 but was forced out less than three years later.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his government was praised for its rapid vaccine rollout. Yet, details later emerged of parties held in Mr Johnson’s Downing Street office and home while the country was in lockdown.

The House of Commons standards committee launched an investigation as did the police.

Police fined Mr Johnson and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.

The former PM was expecting the House report over misleading statements he made to Parliament. Mr Johnson has acknowledged misleading Parliament when he assured that no rules had been broken. He said he didn’t do so deliberately.

He told the committee he “honestly believed” the gatherings, including a send-off for a staffer and his own surprise birthday party, were “lawful work gatherings” intended to boost morale among overworked staff members coping with the pandemic.

If he had waited for the committee to publish its report in the coming weeks, Mr Johnson could have faced suspension if found to have lied deliberately.

By quitting, he avoids a suspension that could have seen him ousted from his seat, meaning he is free to run for Parliament again in future.

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In his statement, the former PM took aim at current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served as finance minister in his government before he and others resigned in last July, forcing Mr Johnson out.

“When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened,” Mr Johnson said.

“Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.

“Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, responded to Johnson’s resignation with: “enough is enough.”

“The British public are sick to the back teeth of this never ending Tory soap opera played out at their expense,” she said.