Decrying \u2018witch hunt\u2019
\nEx premier was under investigation for misleading House of Commons about parties in Downing Street during Covid
\nLONDON
\nFormer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly quit as a member of parliament on Friday in a furious protest against lawmakers investigating his behaviour, reopening deep divisions in the ruling Conservative Party ahead of a general election expected next year.
\nJohnson had been under investigation by a parliamentary inquiry looking into whether he misled the House of Commons about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nAfter Johnson received a confidential letter from the committee, he accused lawmakers investigating him of acting like a \u201ckangaroo court\u201d and being determined to end his political career.
\nAccusing the committee of mounting a \u201cpolitical hit job\u201d, Johnson said in a statement: \u201cI am being forced out by a tiny handful of people, with no evidence to back up their assertions.\u201d
\nParliament\u2019s privileges committee – the main disciplinary body for lawmakers – had the power to recommend Johnson be suspended from parliament. If the suspension is for more than 10 days, voters in his constituency could have demanded he stood for re-election to continue as their representative.
\nJohnson hinted that he could return to politics, declaring he was leaving parliament \u201cfor now\u201d.
\nBut the decision to resign may be the end of his 22-year political career, where he rose from parliament to mayor of London and then built a profile that tipped the balance of the 2016 European Union referendum in favour of Brexit.
\nJohnson, whose premiership was cut short in part by anger in his own party and across Britain over COVID rule-breaking lockdown parties in his Downing Street office and residence, said the committee had not found \u201ca shred of evidence\u201d against him.
\n\u201cI am not alone in thinking that a witch hunt is underway to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result,\u201d he said. \u201cMy removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there has been a concerted attempt to bring it about.\u201d
\nThe investigation is chaired by a senior Labour Party lawmaker, but the majority of lawmakers on the committee are Conservatives.
\nThe committee said it will meet on Monday to conclude its inquiry and will publish its report soon. A spokesperson for the committee said Johnson had \u201cimpugned the integrity\u201d of parliament with his resignation statement.
\nAttack on Sunak
\nThe resignation will trigger a by-election for his constituency in west London. It is the second in a day for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after an ally of Johnson, Nadine Dorries, announced she would step down.
\nAngela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, said: \u201cThe British public are sick to the back teeth of this never-ending Tory soap opera played out at their expense.\u201d
\nJohnson came to power nearly four years ago, promising to deliver Brexit and rescue it from the bitter wrangling that followed the 2016 referendum. He shrugged off concerns from some fellow Conservatives that his narcissism, failure to deal with details, and a reputation for deceit meant he was unsuitable.
\nSome Conservatives enthusiastically backed the former journalist, while others, despite reservations, supported him because he was able to appeal to parts of the electorate that usually rejected their party.
\nThat was borne out in the December 2019 election. But his administration\u2019s combative and often chaotic approach to governing and the scandals exhausted the goodwill of many of his lawmakers. Opinion polls show he is no longer popular with the public at large.
\nJohnson used his resignation statement on Friday to deliver an attack on the premiership of Sunak, whom he partly blames for ending his government. The men, who worked closely together during the pandemic, have had a feud since Sunak resigned as finance minister last summer in protest against Johnson\u2019s leadership.
\n\u201cWhen I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cOur party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Decrying \u2018witch hunt\u2019 Ex premier was under investigation for misleading House of Commons about parties in Downing Street during Covid LONDON Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly quit as a member of parliament on Friday in a furious protest against lawmakers investigating his behaviour, reopening deep divisions in the ruling Conservative Party ahead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[901],"class_list":{"0":"post-336829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-boris-johnson"},"yoast_head":"\n