Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned his seat in Parliament rather than risk being forced out by an investigation into whether he misled the House of Commons over his role in lockdown-era parties in government offices.
In a statement, Johnson indicated a House of Commons committee found that he had misled lawmakers over his knowledge of Covid-19 rule breaches while he was in Downing Street. He was privately informed of their findings this week.
“I am stepping down forthwith and triggering an immediate by-election,” Johnson said. “I am very sorry to leave my wonderful constituency. It has been a huge honor to serve them, both as Mayor and MP.”
His resignation as the member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip means he avoids the potential humiliation of a Commons vote on his conduct and a special election in his seat that he might have gone on to lose.
The resignation could reopen the feud between Johnson and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which has simmered since Sunak resigned as chancellor of the exchequer in protest against Johnson’s leadership last year. That move precipitated his Johnson’s departure as premier.
It means Sunak’s party now faces special elections this summer, threatening to derail his hopes of closing the gap in the opinion polls with the opposition Labour Party, ahead of a general election due by January 2025. Johnson ally, Nadine Dorries, also resigned from her Mid Bedfordshire seat earlier Friday.
