China News Service, June 10 (Xinhua) According to Reuters, on the 9th local time, former British Prime Minister Johnson announced his resignation as a member of parliament with immediate effect.
According to reports, Johnson made the decision to resign after receiving a confidential letter from the privilege committee. He is alleged to have received the report of the Privileges Commission’s findings into whether he misled Parliament over the “Partygate” incident.
Data map: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He criticized the privilege committee for being reduced to a political thug and was determined to end his political career, “I was forced out by a small group of people.”
Johnson said in a statement, “I am not alone in seeing this as a witch hunt in retaliation for (my push for) Brexit and to ultimately overturn the 2016 referendum result…my resignation is a necessary first step which I I’m sure there’s been a concerted effort to make this happen.”
However, Johnson used the wording in the statement to leave parliament “temporarily”, seemingly suggesting that he would return to politics.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s statement did not say what sanctions the committee would take against him.
According to reports, Johnson’s move will once again trigger serious internal divisions in the ruling Conservative Party before the 2024 British general election.
The Privileges Committee of the British Parliament is the disciplinary body in Parliament. If it finds that Johnson is at fault, it has the power to recommend that he be suspended. The inquiry was chaired by a senior Labor MP, but most of the MPs on the committee are Conservatives, members of Johnson’s party.
The committee said it will meet on the 12th to conclude its investigation and will publish its report soon. A committee spokesman said Johnson’s statement of resignation “undermined the integrity of Parliament”.
According to previous reports, Johnson served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for three years and was widely supported. However, Johnson’s reputation plummeted and he was eventually forced to resign after it was revealed that he had violated the epidemic prevention regulations and had a party in the prime minister’s mansion. He announced his resignation as head of the Conservative Party and prime minister in July 2022, and then stayed in office until a new leader was formed in September.