Caught up by “partygate”, ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson renounces his mandate as MP

“I am very sad to leave Parliament (at least for now) but above all I am appalled that I was forced to leave, in an undemocratic way.” Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in a press release on Friday June 9 that he was giving up his mandate as an MP. At issue: the parliamentary inquiry into the “partygate”, the parties held in Downing Street in violation of the restrictions linked to Covid-19.

Boris Johnson, 58, said his decision was effective immediately, triggering a by-election that immediately ends any prospect of a return. However, this decision also highlights the divisions within the conservative power, aggravating the difficulties of his successor Rishi Sunak, one year from the next legislative elections.

A year after being kicked out of Downing Street, Boris Johnson remains under a parliamentary inquiry to determine whether he lied to Parliament in the “partygate” affair. The procedure, led by the privileges commission, is in the process of finishing its work and had just, according to the British press, submitted its conclusions to the former leader.

“I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee which makes it clear (to my astonishment) that they are determined to use the procedure against me to oust me from Parliament”, wrote the former Conservative Prime Minister in a press release. He also accuses the commission of having produced a report which has not yet been published, “riddled with inaccuracies and reeking of prejudice”without giving him “no formal possibility of contesting what they say”.