Boris Johnson will “study carefully” whether to hire a new ethics adviser after Lord Geidt becomes the second to step down, saying he has put himself in an “impossible and odious position”.
Downing Street said it was a “vital” role, but when asked if a new adviser was being sought, Johnson’s spokesman said Lord Geidt had raised a number of issues.
He said Mr Johnson wanted to “consider them carefully and reflect on them” and that no decision had yet been made on whether the role “relates to a specific person or not”.
Politics Hub: Lord Geidt “had a pretty tough grid on the part of MPs,” says Raab
Downing Street released Lord Geidt’s resignation letter a day after he decided to resign unexpectedly.
The couple’s departure came after their predecessor Sir Alex Allan resigned in 2020. This was described by Labor as a “badge of shame” for the government.
Lord Geidt admitted this week that he had considered resigning in response to Mr Geidt’s response. Johnson fined for violating COVID-19 rules.
In letters to the Prime Minister explaining why he was leaving, Lord Geidt admitted that he believed “by a very small margin” that it was possible to “continue credibly as an independent adviser” after the party.
The final reason for his departure was a separate issue related to possible decisions on steel import tariffs.
In a letter, Lord Geidt said he had been asked this week to offer an insight into “measures that risk a deliberate and intentional breach of the ministerial code”.
“This request has put me in an impossible and hateful position,” he said.
“The idea that a prime minister can be in any degree in the business of deliberately violating his own code is an affront.”
Lord Geidt said that even an intention to deliberately violate the ministerial code “would be to suspend the provisions of the code to suit a political purpose”.
He added: “This would make a mockery not only of respecting the code, but would also allow the suspension of its provisions to govern the conduct of His Majesty’s ministers.
“I can’t participate in this.”
Read more: Complete Letters from Lord Geidt and Boris Johnson
Lord Geidt said that as he had been fulfilling his obligation to appear as a witness before a select committee of parliament earlier this week, this was his first chance to react and he therefore resigned with immediate effect.
Johnson said in response that the letter “was a surprise” after the councilor told him on Monday that he was happy to stay until the end of the year.
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2:31 PM said he was “very, very surprised” to receive a fine after the ‘Partygate’ events.
He said he had sought advice from Lord Geidt in relation to the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), a body set up to protect UK businesses from unfair competition, on the national interest in protecting a “crucial” industry.
Johnson said the industry “is protected in other European countries and would suffer property damage if we do not continue to apply these tariffs.”
The Prime Minister said that in the past these measures had the support of parties.
He added that the tariff decision “would be in line with our national law, but could be seen to be in conflict with our WTO obligations”. [World Trade Organisation]”.
Johnson said: “In seeking your advice before making any decisions, I was trying to make sure we acted properly in accordance with the ministerial code.”
The Prime Minister thanked Lord Geidt for his service and said that he had done his job “in very difficult circumstances”.
The TRA said the prime minister’s letter apparently referred to a case involving steel tariffs that was “summoned” by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the secretary of international trade in March, which allowed her to choose to override the TRA recommendations.
UK steel producers have called for tariffs to be extended to more products, while importers and manufacturers, whose costs are driven by tariffs, argue that fewer products should be subject to them.
The departure of Lord Geidt follows the departure of Sir Alex and the departure of Prime Minister John Penrose’s anti-corruption champion last week.
Liberal Democrats called for an urgent update on what the prime minister is planning and why it would be a violation of the ministerial code.
Party leader Wendy Chamberlain said: “It looks like Boris Johnson is planning to break his own rules once again.
“The Prime Minister must now come to Parliament and answer questions about these extremely serious allegations.”
Fleur Anderson, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: minister would have abandoned him, well, he’s becoming a bit of a boss.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“The Prime Minister has now expelled his two hand-picked ethics advisers to resign desperately in two years. It is a sign of shame for this government.”