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Lord Geidt has resigned as the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests.
He tendered his resignation to Boris Johnson, according to a brief statement on the government’s website on Wednesday evening.
“With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests,” the statement reads.
A senior source in Number 10 said Lord Geidt’s resignation came as “a total surprise” and is “a mystery” to Mr Johnson.
“Only on Monday Lord Geidt asked if he could stay on for six months,” the source added.
Last month, Lord Geidt had said there was a “legitimate question” over whether the PM broke the ministerial code after he received a partygate fine over a birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 when indoor socialising was banned.
In his annual report, the ethics adviser said: “In the case of the fixed penalty notice recently issued to and paid by the Prime Minister, a legitimate question has arisen as to whether those facts alone might have constituted a breach of the overarching duty within the Ministerial Code of complying with the law.”
On Tuesday, Lord Geidt refused to deny to MPs that he had considered resigning over Mr Johnson’s response to being penalised for breaching lockdown rules amid the scandal.
Lord Geidt told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that he had felt “frustration” over the lockdown-busting events that took place in Downing Street and across Whitehall.
“I am glad that the prime minister was able to respond to my report and in doing so addressed aspects of the things about which I was clearly frustrated,” he told the committee.
“Resignation is one of the rather blunt but few tools available to the adviser….
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Source : skynews
