Ministers found to have breached the ministerial code will no longer have to resign or face dismissal.
Revisions to the ministerial code, which sets out rules of conduct for government ministers, were released on Friday.
The changes come after recommendations from the Committee on Public Living Standards, as well as discussions on agreements for the office of independent adviser on the interests of ministers with Lord Geidt, who was appointed the last year.
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They were made in the wake of last year’s Owen Paterson lobbying scandal, when it was found that the now former MP had breached the lobbying rules, but Boris Johnson asked his MPs not to support his suspension. . After a commotion, he turned U, but Mr. Paterson resigned.
The new changes have been ridiculed by opposition parties, who have accused the prime minister of “watering down the rules to save his skin”.
He is currently under investigation by the Privilege Committee to see if he fooled Parliament when he repeatedly told lawmakers that there were no parties on Downing Street during the blockade, which police and Sue Gray’s investigation have shown otherwise.
What are the changes?
Ministers will no longer be expected to automatically resign or face dismissal if they are found to have violated the code.
A Cabinet statement said it would be “disproportionate” for ministers to lose their jobs due to “minor breaches”.
Instead, the prime minister could order “some form of public apology, corrective action or removal of the ministerial salary for a period of time.”
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Image: The ministerial code was re-examined after the Owen Paterson scandal
Another important change is that the independent advisor will now be able to initiate an investigation into possible code breaches.
Before only the Prime Minister could do that, but the code now adds that the final decision is still up to the Prime Minister.
The independent adviser will have the support of a dedicated set of civil servants, will have its own gov.uk website and will be responsible for managing its own affairs and correspondent, a political statement said.
In a statement announcing the changes, the Cabinet Office said: “The government has taken into account the need to avoid incentives for trivial or vexatious complaints that could be made for partisan reasons.
“These complaints may undermine public confidence in the standards of public life rather than strengthen it.”
Image: Lord Geidt will have his own staff to deal with the interests of the ministers
“Conservatives learned nothing from Owen Paterson scandal”
Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said Boris Johnson had “rewritten his own prologue to the ministerial code, removing all reference to honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability.”
“It is lowering the standards and degrading the principles of public life before our very eyes,” he added.
“In a week in which Boris Johnson’s lies were finally exposed in parliament about breaking industrial rules at the heart of the government, he should resign but instead dilute the rules to save his own skin.” .
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Lib Dem chief Wendy Chamberlain said the changes to the ministerial code were a “frightening attempt” by the prime minister “to manipulate the rules to take off”.
“It seems the Conservatives have learned nothing from the Owen Paterson scandal,” he said.
“The Prime Minister should not be allowed to decide on his own punishment, with zero responsibility. This makes him a judge and a juror in his own case.
“If the Privilege Committee finds that Boris Johnson lied in parliament, Conservative MPs will surely have no choice but to fire him.”