Lord Geidt

Geidt said: 'I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post' after questions over whether PM broke ministerial code.

“There is some small limitation on the capacity of the independent adviser to be truly independent.” Such a circular process could only risk placing the ministerial code in a place of ridicule,” he said. If the privileges committee find Johnson has breached the code by lying to parliament, they could push for party rules to be changed to allow another vote. Johnson is already facing an investigation by the House of Commons privileges committee over whether he broke it on another count – by misleading parliament about whether lockdown-busting parties took place. She added: “The person who should be leaving Number 10 tonight is Boris Johnson himself. It is understood the robust evidence session confirmed in Geidt’s mind that his position was no longer tenable.

Adviser quits a day after saying that PM's partygate fine may represent a breach of ministerial code.

We will appoint a new adviser in due course.” Lord Geidt had not seen the messages and reprimanded Downing Street for not handing them to him, but chose to stay on. No decision had been taken pending that advice. Mr Wragg said: “Lord Geidt is a person of great integrity, motivated by the highest ideals of public service. On the contrary." To lose two looks like carelessness."

Lord Geidt took on the role of ethics adviser in April 2021 after a decade as the Queen's private secretary.

He began his career in the royal household as an assistant private secretary in 2002. The committee noted that he had been given a “small pool” of staff to help him following a request he made to Mr Johnson in December, a move which he said had been “very helpful”. Asked why, he told MPs: “I think matters relating to the code have become matters of greater profile in the public square.” He added: “I’m very glad to have it because the amount of traffic that comes to the Office of Independent Adviser has grown very greatly in my time.” Mr Johnson responded the fixed penalty notice he was given by the Metropolitan Police “did not breach” the Ministerial Code as there was “no intent to break the law”. Lord Geidt was knighted under the Royal Victorian Order, for service to the monarchy, and was later made a knight commander of the Order of the Bath, for public service.

Lord Geidt was reported to be on the verge of resignation after the PM wrote to him clearing himself of breaching the ministerial code over Partygate.

If even they can’t defend his conduct in office, how can anyone believe he is fit to govern? “The person who should be leaving No 10 tonight is Boris Johnson himself. Attorney General Suella Braverman was being interviewed for ITV's Peston show when the news broke.

In May 2021, the ethics adviser concluded that Mr Hancock had committed a “minor” but undeliberate breach of the ministerial code and should not resign from his ...

“He thought he could discreetly bring about incremental change but he was repeatedly lied to by No 10. The PM is said to be totally surprised by the resignation. We will appoint a new adviser in due course." No decision had been taken pending that advice. Lord Geidt also told MPs on the committee he had felt “frustration” over partygate and that the option of him resigning was “always on the agenda as an available remedy to a particular problem.” The committee noted that he had been given a “small pool” of staff to help him following a request he made to Mr Johnson in December, a move which he said had been “very helpful”.

Lord Geidt has resigned as the prime minister's adviser on ministerial interests. He tendered his resignation to Boris Johnson, according to a brief ...

"The prime minister has now driven both of his own handpicked ethics advisers to resign in despair. "The person who should be leaving Number 10 tonight is Boris Johnson himself. If even they can't defend his conduct in office, how can anyone believe he is fit to govern?" We will appoint a new adviser in due course." "In relation to the fixed penalty notice for my attendance in the Cabinet Room on June 19 2020, I believe that, taking account of all the circumstances, I did not breach the code," he wrote in a responding letter to Lord Geidt in May. No decision had been taken pending that advice.

The peer said that 'with regret' he is resigning as the Prime Minister's adviser on ministerial interests.

“The person who should be leaving No 10 tonight is Boris Johnson himself. We will appoint a new adviser in due course.” I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were,” he said. No decision had been taken pending that advice,” a Government spokeswoman said. But the adviser said Mr Johnson had acted “unwisely” by allowing the work to go ahead without “more rigorous regard” for how it was being funded. “We are surprised, this is a mystery to the PM. Only on Monday he said he would like to stay on for another six months,” the source said.

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.

I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were." To lose two looks like carelessness." 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". He is married with two daughters No decision had been taken pending that advice". 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."

The official said just one day ago that there were 'legitimate' questions about whether the PM broke the ministerial code during Partygate.

He is also permanent Lord in Waiting to the Queen, and Chairman of King’s College London. In the end he was a decent man working for an indecent prime minister. He was previously in the military, as an army intelligence officer, and worked as a diplomat. I’m disappointed, obviously, but I know he’s served the Government well and we wish him well in the future.” but cleared him of breaking the ministerial code. Earlier this year, Lord Geidt investigated Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his family’s tax affairs. Lord Geidt – whose full name is Christopher Edward Wollaston Mackenzie Geidt – has been a member of the House of Lords since November 2017. It is the second time that Mr Johnson has suffered the loss of his adviser on ministerial interests. I am glad that my frustrations were addressed in the way that they were.” Whitehall veterans suggested Mr Johnson may struggle to fill the vacancy a second time. The person who should be leaving No 10 tonight is Boris Johnson himself.” We will appoint a new adviser in due course.”

Boris Johnson's leadership is called into question again after the resignation of his ethics adviser. BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND - JUNE 09: Prime Minister Boris ...

Bloomsbury Publishing says the uptick in book sales is unlikely to be harmed by the cost of living crisis. Unless there is a figure lurking in the wings, it is unclear who would be prepared to fill one of the most tainted jobs in public life. Around four per cent of the prison population is female, so it is no surprise that things are often designed with men in mind, she writes. The insect’s journey began on board the slave-trading vessel that sailed from La Rochelle in 1743 for the Guinea coast. This time, however, the Fed has made the move to counter soaring inflation. They added: “This week, the independent adviser was asked to provide advice on a commercially sensitive matter in the national interest, which has previously had cross-party support. The Government “was surprised by this decision,” a spokesperson said. Energy experts warn the UK is “walking a tightrope” to make it through the coming winter without suffering huge price shocks or power blackouts. The rise would be the highest spike in 20 years. - Fresh calls for Boris to go:Lord Geidt’s resignationhas renewed calls from opposition leaders for the PM to step down himself, following repeated allegations he has broken the ministerial code. The Government is considering its position a day after the Rwanda deportation flight was blocked, with ministers seeking to close a legal loophole that stops migrants from being deported. The biggest rail strike in 30 years is planned for three days next week, beginning on Tuesday 21 June.

Michael Ellis, the Cabinet Office minister, starts by thanking Lord Geidt for his work. He says he holds him in highest regard. MPs will recognise that Geidt ...

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. Regular readers will not need reminder of what else is on the list (and, besides, it would take a while just typing it up). The prime minister has now driven out both of his hand-picked ethics advisers to resign in despair in two years, it is a badge of shame for this government. Reading between the lines and between all the various different reports he has produced, he [Lord Geidt] basically thinks that the Prime Minister has broken the ministerial code himself. But last night Geidt just issued a one-sentence explanation for his departure, saying: “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers’ interests.” More than a year ago, after he was first appointed as Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests (official title) or “ethics adviser” (media shorthand), Lord Geidt said that, if Johnson ignored his advice, he could retaliate by resigning “as a last resort”. He told MPs: “The power is there.” Last night, in a surprise move, he used it. Raab is right to say Geidt is someone who for most of his career has not had to put up with media vilification. And there is no basis in the European convention for Strasburg to intervene. This is the most controversial legislation planned by the government for this session, but ministers do not seem to be in a hurry to debate it. That is a “badge of shame” for the government, she says. Journalists often like to take credit for forcing the resignation of politicians or senior public figures. It is an age old principle of natural justice that no person should be a judge in their own cause.

Ethics adviser who quit says PM asked him to consider matter that risked deliberate breach of ministerial code.

He said it was important that “whoever holds this role is not under constant pressure, political pressure, to attack the prime minister for policy and political reasons. A deliberate breach, or even an intention to do so, would be to suspend the provisions of the code to suit a political end. “This has in the past had cross-party support. I can have no part in this.” He said he had initially asked the prime minister to justify his position openly but came to the conclusion his role was untenable. This request has placed me in an impossible and odious position.”

Boris Johnson considered action risking a deliberate breach of the ministerial code, Lord Geidt said, as he quit as ethics adviser over the 'odious' ...

I therefore resign from this appointment with immediate effect,” the crossbench peer wrote. In his letter, he said he was “disappointed” that the prime minister did not give a fuller account over how paying the fixed penalty notice did not breach the code. But Lord Geidt said he was forced to quit when he was tasked with offering a view on the government’s “intention to consider measures which risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code.”

No 10 is under pressure to publish Lord Geidt's resignation letter ... Lord Geidt resigned as Boris Johnson's ethics adviser on Wednesday night, in a further blow ...

“Resignation is one of the rather blunt but few tools available to the adviser. We will appoint a new adviser in due course.” No decision had been taken pending that advice,” a Government spokeswoman said. Deputy leader Angela Rayner told Politicothat “there are many unanswered questions about the ethics adviser’s sudden exist”, from the “missing resignation letter to the mysterious advice on a commercially sensitive deal”.that “there are many unanswered questions about the ethics adviser’s sudden exist”, from the “missing resignation letter to the mysterious advice on a commercially sensitive deal”. William Wragg, who publicly admitted to submitting a letter of no confidence in the PM, indicated Lord Geidt’s resignation is a “misfortune”. He told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that he had felt “frustration” and that the option of resignation was always “on the agenda”.

The ministerial interests adviser said he was forced to quit when he was asked to offer a view on the government's “intention to consider measures which risk a ...

I can have no part in this.” I have seen speculation to that end, but that’s certainly not my understanding of it.” Start your Independent Premium subscription today. This Prime Minister has debased standards and rigged the rules for far too long. “The idea that a prime minister might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own code is an affront,” Lord Geidt said in his letter. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was unable to say exactly why Boris Johnson consulted his ethics adviser over the issue - thought to be a proposal to retain steel tariffs - but he said it was a “relatively unusual situation”. But asked whether a new adviser was being sought, the spokesman noted a number of issues raised by Lord Geidt and said the Prime Minister wanted to “carefully consider those and reflect on them before taking a decision on how best to fulfil that commitment about ensuring rigorous oversight and scrutiny of ministerial interests”. He suggested there was no plan to wait for a new adviser to be in place to go ahead with the controversial plan Lord Geidt quit over, saying: “I don’t believe that’s the intention.” Lord Geidt said the idea that the prime minister “might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own code is an affront”. The ministerial interests adviser said he was forced to quit when he was asked to offer a view on the government’s “intention to consider measures which risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code”. Asked whether the Prime Minister had requested advice related to his own finances that might be tangentially connected to the trade dispute, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “No... or any other minister.” Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt has dealt the prime minister a blow by saying the PM put him in an “impossible and odious position” by considering taking action that was a deliberate breach of his own ministerial code.

Labour demanded a new ministerial interests adviser was installed, with the PM having 'debased standards and rigged the rules for far too long'.

This Prime Minister has debased standards and rigged the rules for far too long. It is time for the Conservatives to do the right thing and remove him from office.” But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he would take time to “carefully consider” how best to fulfil the role of ensuring “rigorous oversight and scrutiny of ministerial interests”.

The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) case to which the letter appears to refer was 'called in' by the Government earlier this year, meaning that the ...

'I can have no part in this': Adviser protests he was put in an 'impossible and odious' position.

That is not unusual in and of itself,” he said. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. How on Earth is our utterly unashamed rule-breaking PM still in office?” In a statement, the TRA said that the case referred to in Lord Geidt’s letter was one “called in” by the government earlier this year, meaning that ministers hold full decision-making authority in relation to it. “The prime minister sought Lord Geidt’s advice in relation to this issue and the interplay with the ministerial code. In a stinging letter – which the government first attempted to suppress – Lord Geidt says he was put in an “impossible and odious” position by the request to advise on the plan.

Labour demanded a new ministerial interests adviser was installed, with the PM having 'debased standards and rigged the rules for far too long'.

This Prime Minister has debased standards and rigged the rules for far too long. Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union that represents civil servants, said: “The Ministerial Code is the only mechanism a civil servant can use to raise a complaint of misconduct, bullying or sexual harassment against a minister. But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said he would take time to “carefully consider” how best to fulfil the role of ensuring “rigorous oversight and scrutiny of ministerial interests” as he raised the possibility of it being axed.