Boris Johnson's ethics advisor says the PM must explain why receiving a fine for partygate did not breach the Ministerial Code

May 31, 2022

Composite image of Lord Geidt and Boris Johnson — Composite of Lord Geidt and Boris Johnson
Geidt: Chris Radburn/PA Images via Getty Images; Johnson: Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images; Composite: Insider

Lord Geidt, the prime minister's independent advisor on ministers' interests, has warned Boris Johnson may have breached the Ministerial Code.
Geidt says Johnson must explain how the partygate fine he received from the Met Police did not breach the Ministerial Code requirement to comply with the law.
Geidt raised concerns that Johnson failed to refer to the Ministerial Code during his explanation for his own conduct.

Boris Johnson's ethics advisor has said the Prime Minister must explain how he did not breach the Ministerial Code's requirement to comply with the law in receiving a partygate fine from police.

In his annual report published late Tuesday, Lord Geidt, the independent advisor on ministers' interests, said there is a "legitimate question" as to whether the fixed penalty notice issued to Johnson by the Metropolitan Police showed a breach of the Ministerial Code.

Johnson received a £50 fine from the police for attending a party to mark his birthday held in breach of coronavirus lockdown rules. Photographs of the party were published by Sue Gray in her report into a number of lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street and on Whitehall.

Geidt criticised Johnson for failing to refer to the ministerial code in his explanations regarding his conduct since Gray's report was published. Geidt said his advice, which he had been "assured had been conveyed to the Prime Minister," was that Johnson "should be ready to offer public comment on his obligations under the Ministerial
Code."

Johnson's failure to do so, Geidt suggested, could make it "especially difficult" to inspire trust in the Ministerial Code. Geidt said Johnson, and any other ministers in a similar situation, ought to explain to Parliament and the public how their behaviour is consistent with the code, or acknowledge and explain why they fell short of its standards.

Boris Johnson holding a beer in the Cabinet Room celebrating his birthday — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson "unwittingly" breaking coronavirus regulations "with no intent to break the law" at a gathering in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister's birthday.
UK Government

In a letter to Geidt, also published Tuesday, Johnson said the pair had spoken on Tuesday. Johnson said Geidt had confirmed that he had not raised directly his desire for Johnson to make a public comment about the code.

"Notwithstanding, I understand your frustration that there may have been a failure of communication between our offices, such that I was not aware of the weight you put on the absence of an explicit reference to the Ministerial Code," Johnson wrote.

Johnson said his fine was not a criminal conviction and not a breach of the Code, as he "unwittingly" broke the law by attending his own birthday party with "no intent to break the law."

Johnson said he had made a correction to his statements made to Parliament that no rules had been broken. Johnson said the correction was in line with the Ministerial Code.

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