London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Ministers won't be sacked for minor rule breaking, under new guidelines

Ministers won't be sacked for minor rule breaking, under new guidelines

Ministers who break standards rules in a "minor" way will not be expected to resign or face the sack, under new government guidelines.

It has long been a convention that MPs should quit government for breaking the Ministerial Code in any way.

But in a new section of the code, the PM has been given the option of ordering a lesser sanction instead.

Labour has accused Boris Johnson of "watering down" standards in public life.

The changes follow a review of the Ministerial Code by advisory body the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which made a series of recommendations for reforms in a report.

The contentious reforms come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces an inquiry by a committee of MPs into whether he misled Parliament about lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.

Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will still be expected to resign, with the code saying: "It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament."

But for the first time, the code has introduced the idea of a "minor" breach and sanctions "which the prime minister may decide to issue in a given case".

Under the new rules, possible sanctions for breaching the code could include a "public apology, remedial action, or removal of ministerial salary for a period".

In a statement, the government says it would be "disproportionate" for a minister to lose their job for "any breach" of the ministerial code.

The prime minister is responsible for enforcing the code, based on advice from his standards adviser Lord Geidt, who investigates potential breaches.

In the updated code, Mr Johnson has written a new foreword which mostly focuses on his government's priorities rather than ministerial standards.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the PM had removed "all references to integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest".

She told BBC Radio 4's PM: "He's acting like a tin pot despot - I have never ever witnessed in my entire life a prime minister of any political persuasion behaving in such an outrageous way and it just completely undermines our democracy."

Asked to comment on the changes, Tory MP Sir Bob Neill, who has submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM over Partygate, told BBC News: "I certainly don't think that is a wise move and certainly not a good time to be doing this."

The SNP's deputy Westminster leader, Kirsten Oswald, said: "This move strikes at the very heart of our democracy and will threaten the ability to scrutinise the prime minister for years to come."

Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said the changes to Lord Geidt's powers amounted to an "appalling attempt by Boris Johnson to rig the rules to get himself off the hook".

In other changes, Lord Geidt will now be able to launch his own investigations into alleged breaches of the code following "consultation" with the prime minister.

But updated guidance on the role says he still has to "consult the prime minister who will normally give his consent" for an investigation.

Previously, Lord Geidt had to wait until asked by the prime minister to start an investigation.

"However, where there are public interest reasons for doing so, the prime minister may raise concerns about a proposed investigation such that the independent adviser does not proceed," the new guidance says.

Lord Geidt said he expected to be given "considerably greater" authority, independence and power after conducting an investigation into the prime minister's flat refurbishment last year.

The peer cleared the prime minister of a conflict of interest, after it emerged that Conservative peer Lord Brownlow had donated £52,000 to help cover the costs.


Standards in public life are under scrutiny, as are the mechanisms for policing them.

Before Partygate, there was the saga of the prime minister's flat renovation - and that led to calls for Lord Geidt to get beefed-up powers of investigation.

He and Boris Johnson agreed to review the role, and now the government has updated the job description.

From now on, the independent adviser will be able to launch investigations into the behaviour of ministers - but with an important caveat.

He will still require the prime minister's consent before going ahead.

The revised Ministerial Code now states the prime minister will "normally" agree - unless there's a public interest reason for saying no.


WATCH: Ros Atkins On… The PM and the Ministerial Code


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×