London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Boris Johnson's ethics adviser Lord Geidt quits

Boris Johnson's ethics adviser Lord Geidt quits

The PM's ethics adviser has quit a day after saying there was a "legitimate question" about whether Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules over Partygate.

Lord Geidt did not give a reason for leaving the role he took in April, but said it was the "right thing" to do.

His predecessor, Sir Alex Allan, quit in 2020 after Mr Johnson overruled him over a report into alleged bullying by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The government said it was "surprised" by Lord Geidt's decision.

"Whilst we are disappointed, we thank Lord Geidt for his public service," a spokesperson added.

The spokesperson gave no reason for the resignation but said Lord Geidt had been asked this week "to provide advice on a commercially sensitive matter in the national interest, which has previously had cross-party support. No decision had been taken pending that advice".

No 10 did not make it clear what these comments referred to.

A Downing Street source told the BBC that Lord Geidt's resignation had been a "total surprise and a mystery" to the prime minister, adding: "Only on Monday Lord Geidt asked if he could stay on for six months."

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "The prime minister has now driven both of his own handpicked ethics advisers to resign in despair.

"If even they can't defend his conduct in office, how can anyone believe he is fit to govern?"

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: "When both of Boris Johnson's own ethics advisers have quit, it is obvious that he is the one who needs to go."

Former cabinet secretary Lord Turnbull said of Mr Johnson: "The pattern of behaviour is that anyone who has the power to criticise, obstruct or force him to change, he will try to reduce their power, suborn them or in the last resort wave them aside."

But he told BBC Newsnight that "the charge sheet of Boris Johnson's conduct is now so long that one accusation isn't going to make any difference", adding the prime minister would only leave office if he was removed as Tory leader by MPs.

It was reported that Lord Geidt had threatened to quit last month after the publication of the Sue Gray report into lockdown breaches in Downing Street unless Mr Johnson issued a public explanation for his conduct.

Appearing before a committee of MPs on Tuesday, Lord Geidt said: "Resignation is one of the rather blunt but few tools available to the adviser. I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were."

But, in a brief written statement on Wednesday, he said: "With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers' interests."


Geidt's discomfort in the job was evident

On Wednesday evening, Lord Geidt phoned the prime minister's principal private secretary to tell him he was resigning. Mr Johnson was informed of the decision at about 18:30 BST, shortly after finishing a phone call with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But while the particular timing has surprised some in Downing Street, Lord Geidt's discomfort in the job has been evident for a while.

Just last month he had said in a report that it was a legitimate question to ask if Boris Johnson had breached the ministerial code by breaking Covid laws.

Lord Geidt also spelled out in the report that he didn't like the terms of his job - "the prevailing arrangements still remained insufficiently independent to be able to command the confidence of the public" as he put it.

But the truth is we don't yet know definitively why Lord Geidt resigned, as his resignation letter has not been published - which itself is unconventional.

The prime minister is expected to write back to Lord Geidt on Thursday morning, and that reply may well be made public.

Mr Johnson was fined in April over a surprise birthday party in his honour that he attended in Downing Street in June 2020.

Writing to Lord Geidt afterwards, he said there had been "no intent" to break Covid regulations", and that he had been "fully accountable to Parliament and the British people".

The ministerial code, which outlines the rules government ministers must follow, says there is an "overarching duty" on them to comply with the law.

If the code is broken, the convention in Westminster is for a minister to resign.

In his annual report on ministers' interests, published on 1 June, Lord Geidt said questions around Mr Johnson's behaviour had led to an "impression... the prime minister may be unwilling to have his own conduct judged against" the ministerial code.

He said that, when it came to the Partygate fine, "a legitimate question has arisen as to whether those facts alone might have constituted a breach of the overarching duty within the ministerial code of complying with the law".

Following Lord Geidt's resignation, Tory MP William Wragg, whose Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee questioned the adviser on Tuesday, described him as "a person of great integrity, motivated by the highest ideals of public service".

Mr Wragg, a critic of Mr Johnson, added: "For the PM to lose one adviser on ministers' interests may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness."

Lord Geidt previously served as the Queen's private secretary and before that he was an Army intelligence officer and diplomat.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×