Boris Johnson, the former UK Prime Minister, has been accused of a “clear breach” of the ministerial code by not seeking clearance for his new role as a columnist for the Daily Mail from parliamentary authorities. The committee responsible for vetting ex-ministers’ appointments stated that Johnson informed them only 30 minutes before the news became public.
Despite his resignation as an MP, he is still required to seek advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) for two years after leaving ministerial office. Acoba has contacted Johnson for an explanation. Johnson’s spokesperson stated that he is following the normal process by staying in touch with Acoba.
Acoba’s criticism
Acoba, chaired by Conservative peer Lord Pickles, aims to ensure that there are no suspicions when former ministers or senior officials take up new jobs. However, some critics view Acoba as ineffective, with deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner asserting that Johnson is once again breaking the rules and taking advantage of a flawed system.
Acoba lacks the power to enforce its recommendations or punish rule-breaking MPs but can issue public rebukes. In a statement, it said, “The ministerial code states that ministers must ensure that no new appointments are announced, or taken up, before the committee has been able to provide its advice.
“An application received 30 mins before an appointment is announced is a clear breach,” Acoba said adding, “We have written to Mr Johnson for an explanation and will publish correspondence in due course, in line with our policy of transparency.”
Daily Mail Column
Boris Johnson’s first weekly column for the Daily Mail appeared online on a Friday afternoon. In that, Johnson avoided discussing politics and recent events, fulfilling his promise to focus on other topics. Johnson in a video shared by the paper said, “I am thrilled to have been asked to contribute a column to the Daily Mail. It is going to be completely unexpurgated stuff. I may even have to cover politics, but I’ll obviously try to do that as little as possible unless I absolutely have to.”
Past rule-breaking incidents
Previously, Johnson was found to have violated the rules when he took up a £275,000 per year column with the Telegraph shortly after stepping down as foreign secretary.
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Acoba deemed it “unacceptable” that Johnson had not sought its advice beforehand. His Telegraph column became a platform for opposing Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans and promoting his own leadership aspirations. Johnson’s new role with the Daily Mail might offer him the opportunity to criticize Rishi Sunak, with whom he has clashed recently over the resignation honours list, said media reports.
Parliamentary vote on partygate report
Johnson has asked his supporters not to vote against a report that found him deliberately misleading Parliament regarding the Partygate scandal. Some of his allies had expressed intentions to oppose the findings in a Commons vote, including Nadine Dorries. The main recommendation of the report is a 90-day suspension from Parliament, but Johnson has already resigned as an MP.
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