LONDON (AP) — Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by resigning as a lawmaker after being told he will be punished for misleading Parliament.
Johnson resigned after receiving the results of an inquiry by lawmakers into misleading statements he made to Parliament about the «party.»
In a statement, he accused opponents of trying to oust him.
He said he had «received a letter from the Committee on Privileges which makes it clear, to my astonishment, that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to expel me from Parliament.»
He called the committee a «kangaroo court.»
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as lawmaker for a seat in suburban London.
Johnson, whose career has been a roller coaster of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019 but was forced out by his own party less than three years later.
He had been awaiting the outcome of an inquiry by a House of Commons standards committee into misleading statements he made to Parliament about a large number of gatherings in government buildings in 2020 and 2021 that breached pandemic lockdown rules.
Police eventually issued 126 tickets for all-nighters, booze parties and «wine Fridays», including one for Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his tenure.
Johnson acknowledged misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers that no rules had been broken, but said he did not do so on purpose.
He told the committee that he «honestly believed» that the five events he attended, including a staff member’s send-off and his own surprise birthday party, were «legal business meetings» intended to boost morale among members of the overworked staff facing a deadly pandemic.
The committee was expected to publish its report in the coming weeks, and Johnson could have faced suspension from the House of Commons if he was found to have lied deliberately. By resigning, he avoids a suspension that could have thrown him out of office. seat in the House of Commons for his constituents, leaving him free to run for Parliament again. His resignation statement suggested that he was considering that option. He was highly critical of Sunak, who served as Treasury chief in Johnson’s government before leaving the post with many other colleagues in July 2022, resignations that forced Johnson to resign.
“Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk,” Johnson said. «Our party urgently needs to regain its sense of drive and its belief in what this country can do.»
Johnson resigned hours later King Charles III he rewarded Johnson’s loyal aides and allies with knighthoods and other honors, a political tradition for former prime ministers that drew cries of cronyism from opponents of the ousted leader.