– They are expelling me from Parliament

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is stepping down as an MP with immediate effect.

His resignation as elected representative for Uxbridge and South Ruislip meant that by-elections had begun there.

It is very sad to leave Parliament, at least for the time being, Johnson says in a statement.

The departure is linked to the so-called Partygate scandal, which involved several parties held at Prime Minister Johnson’s residence while the rest of Great Britain was locked down during the pandemic.

Refuse to break the rules

Johnson has apologized to the parties, but has always insisted he didn’t break any rules. This was also his message when he was summoned to a hearing in the House of Commons.

Subsequently, doubts were raised as to whether Johnson was telling the truth, and a House of Commons committee investigated this. The committee has not yet submitted its report, but has updated Johnson on the direction it is taking.

letter received

Johnson confirmed on Friday that he had received a letter from the committee telling him what he had in store.

– I received a letter from the Committee which, to my surprise, made it clear that it was determined to use the results to remove me from Parliament, as stated in an announcement from the former Prime Minister.

Kangaroo Court

Johnson calls the commission of inquiry “kangaroo court,” a term describing a biased legal system in which the verdict against the accused is predetermined.

– He says a bunch of people forced me out who have no evidence to support the accusations they are making.

Scandals

Johnson has been surrounded by scandals for years, but he’s back again and again. He led the Conservative Party to election victory in 2019, but he lost support in his own party and among the population and was ousted as prime minister three years before the passage.

In 2021 it emerged that the prime minister’s residence had been renovated for NOK 2.2 million, and that the Conservative Party would pick up part of the bill.

Johnson dismissed the case as “nonsense”, but refused to answer where the money came from. An independent investigation was launched which concluded that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe all did not go well.

Questions have also been raised about a luxury trip to the Caribbean island of Mustique in December 2019, which Johnson said was paid for by a close friend. This also led to an investigation, but it was concluded that he had done nothing wrong.

accused Labor leader

In 2022, Johnson accused Labor leader Keir Starmer of being responsible for failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, the notorious and abusive TV editor. Starmer received death threats after the allegations and was attacked by far-right protesters outside parliament.

The statement, which Johnson later retracted, sparked outrage in both the opposition and in his own party, and many of Johnson’s staff quit.

In May 2021, Johnson was said to have stated that he would rather see “the bodies piling up” than impose more restrictions on England to prevent coronavirus infection. Johnson denied saying this.

Stupid politician

Johnson also had to endure heavy criticism when it became known that one of his closest allies in the party, Chris Pincher, had groped drunk men on two occasions.

Johnson was aware that there were similar accusations against Pincher already in 2019, but he let the party continue as he was given a central position.

As a result of Johnson’s handling of the Pincher scandal, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Minister of Health Sajid Javid resigned from their posts. A number of others followed, eventually leading to Johnson’s resignation.

Sunak later succeeded him as prime minister.