It has been revealed that Lord Geidt quit as ethics adviser to prime minister Boris Johnson after being asked to approve a “deliberate” breach of the ministerial code.
In his resignation letter to the PM, Lord Geidt called the move an “affront” which had put him in an “impossible and odious” position.
After having come close to resigning over the PM’s handling of the Partygate saga, it was advice sought on a trade issue which proved the final straw for Lord Geidt.
In the letter of resignation, Lord Geidt said that he had been concerned by Johnson’s response to flagrant breaches of lockdown rules that were allowed to happen on the PM’s watch. However, he had concluded that he could “credibly” remain ethics adviser “by a very small margin”.
Discussing the trade issue, Lord Geidt explained that he had been asked for advice over a government plan to do something “which risks a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code”.
Lord Geidt stopped short of giving details about what he was asked to advise on.
The now former independent adviser on ministers’ interests did, however, say that it was an “affront” to even contemplate that the PM “might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own code.”
Lord Geidt added: “A deliberate breach, or even an intention to do so, would be to suspend the provisions of the code to suit a political end.
“This would make a mockery not only of respect for the code but licence the suspension of its provisions in governing the conduct of Her Majesty's ministers.”
In his response to Lord Geidt’s resignation, Boris Johnson said that he was surprised by the decision but thanked the former ethics adviser for his time in service.
Johnson also claimed that Lord Geidt’s decision to quit was over advice he had sought about a potential future decision which related to the Trade Remedies Authorities.
The PM said he was seeking clarification on how he could set about “protecting a crucial industry, which is protected in other European countries and would suffer material harm if we do not continue to apply such tariffs”.
Johnson said that what the government was considering was in accordance with domestic law, but “might be seen to conflict with our obligations under the World Trade Organisation.”
He went on to say that he wanted to “ensure that we [the government] acted properly” in seeking out Lord Geidt’s advice.
As ethics adviser, it was Lord Geidt’s role to advise the prime minister on matters relating to the ministerial code.
Lord Geidt’s full letter of resignation and prime minister Boris Johnson’s complete response can be read here.
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons
