Boris Johnson resigns as MP with immediate effect and says he is ‘bewildered and appalled’ at being ‘forced out’ – live

From 3h ago 15. 08 EDT Boris Johnson stepping down as an MP with immediate effect and says he is ‘bewildered and appalled’ at being ‘forced out’ Boris Johnson is standing down as the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, it has been reported. The move by the former prime minister will trigger an immediate by-election.

He took the move after the Privileges Committee of the House of Commons reportedly found he misled Parliament & recommended sanction of more than 10 days. Johnson told the Times: “It is very sad to be leaving parliament – at least for now – but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias” BREAKING Boris Johnson is standing down as the Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, triggering an immediate by-election Comes after Privileges Committee recommended suspension of more than 10 days — Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) June 9, 2023 Updated at 15. 17 EDT Key events 24m ago Privileges Committee to meet on Monday to conclude inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPs 2h ago ‘Good riddance’: opposition MPs react to Boris Johnson’s resignation 2h ago Johnson claims attempt to reverse Brexit behind his being found to have misled parliament 3h ago Johnson says ‘not a shred of evidence’ he misled Commons as he steps down 3h ago Boris Johnson says Tories must ‘recapture momentum’ in stinging resignation rebuke to Sunak government 3h ago Boris Johnson stepping down as an MP with immediate effect and says he is ‘bewildered and appalled’ at being ‘forced out’ 5h ago Tory health minister Will Quince to stand down at next election to ‘put family first’ 5h ago Boris Johnson rewards aides implicated in Partygate 5h ago Rishi Sunak had ‘no involvement or input’ into Johnson’s honours list, says press secretary 6h ago Boris Johnson rewards aides implicated in Partygate scandal 6h ago Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel receive a knighthood and damehood in Boris Johnson honours list 6h ago Nadine Dorries claims there are people in the House of Lords without her ‘record of achievement’ but that they did go to Oxbridge 6h ago Nadine Dorries says ‘something significant’ prompted her to stand down 7h ago Nadine Dorries to stand down as MP immediately 7h ago Starmer’s vision for Britain is ‘a blank sheet of paper’, claims Sunak 7h ago ‘I want the north to be at the heart of our economic growth,’ says Sunak 8h ago ‘There is no route to electoral success without you,’ Sunak tells Northern Research Group conference 8h ago Unite announces new wave of NHS strikes 11h ago George Osborne tells Tories to stop blaming civil servants ‘if we don’t get things right’ 11h ago Downing Street claims windfall tax suspension will ‘safeguard thousands of jobs’ 11h ago Green party accuses Labour of rowing back on green promises at the ‘first sign of any difficulty’ 12h ago Greenpeace says Labour plans to water down £28bn green prosperity promise ‘huge mistake’ 12h ago England’s largest teaching union threatens strikes before summer 13h ago PM urged to block Boris Johnson’s honours list amid reports it will be published today 13h ago Jeremy Hunt offers ‘get-out’ clause from windfall tax 14h ago Labour says £28bn green prosperity plan in doubt Filters BETA Key events (26) Boris Johnson (35) Rishi Sunak (21) Nadine Dorries (10) Rachel Reeves (7) George Osborne (5) 16m ago 17.

43 EDT Pippa Crerar When Boris Johnson sat down to draft his resignation statement after learning the privileges committee had concluded that he lied to MPs over Partygate, he was determined to leave his enemies – on both sides of the Commons – a clear message. “ It is very sad to be leaving parliament ,” he wrote. “At least for now …” That he still harbours hopes of a comeback – despite the damage that he has done to his own reputation, the Conservative party brand and to the country more widely – should surprise nobody.

Since he announced in July 2022 that he was quitting as prime minister, Johnson has made no secret of the fact that he felt he had nothing wrong and so had been treated unfairly. “I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out,” he said. Boris Johnson’s hopes for a comeback must surely now be futile Read more 20m ago 17.

39 EDT Boris Johnson “impugned the integrity of the House” by his furious resignation statement, a spokesperson for the Privileges Committee said Responding to Johnson’s resignation, the spokesperson said: “The Committee has followed the procedures and the mandate of the House at all times and will continue to do so. “Mr Johnson has departed from the processes of the House and has impugned the integrity of the House by his statement. The Committee will meet on Monday to conclude the inquiry and to publish its report promptly.

” Shadow secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting defended Privileges Committee chairwoman Harriet Harman after Johnson’s accusations of “bias”. “@HarrietHarman has more integrity in one little finger than all her detractors combined,” Mr Streeting tweeted. “The Conservative Party is an ungovernable rabble and their time is up.

” Updated at 17. 41 EDT 24m ago 17. 35 EDT Privileges Committee to meet on Monday to conclude inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPs The Privileges Committee will meet on Monday to conclude its inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled MPs and plans to “publish its report promptly” following the former prime minister’s resignation from the Commons, a spokesman said.

Updated at 17. 36 EDT 34m ago 17. 25 EDT George Osborne, the former Chancellor , and not one of Boris Johnson’s biggest supporters, has tweeted.

What a lovely evening 🙂 — George Osborne (@George_Osborne) June 9, 2023 46m ago 17. 13 EDT Boris Johnson gave evidence in March during a a tetchy three-and-a-half-hour evidence session in which he repeatedly claimed No 10 parties, with alcohol and little social distancing, had been “necessary” for work purposes despite the Covid guidance in place at the time. It’s worth revisiting the highlights of his evidence session as he insisted ‘hand on heart’ he had not lied to the Commons over workplace gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic.

In his resignation letter today, he again insists “I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the Committee know it. ” 04:42 ‘Complete nonsense’: key moments from Boris Johnson’s Partygate grilling – video 51m ago 17. 08 EDT Priti Patel, who served under Boris Johnson as home secretary and was nominated for a damehood in the former prime minister’s long-awaited resignation honours list, tweeted a message of support for Johnson, describing him as “a political titan”.

She tweeted : “Boris Johnson has served our country and his constituency with distinction. He led world in supporting Ukraine, got Brexit done, and was our most electorally successful prime minister since Margaret Thatcher. Boris is a political titan whose legacy will stand the test of time.

” 1h ago 16. 59 EDT Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland compares Johnson’s resignation letter to the rhetoric of Donald Trump. The casual willingness to destroy public trust in institutions, the denial of all personal responsibility, the claiming of a bogus victimhood — every word is pure, undiluted Trump https://t.

co/o7N0udFxJ9 — Jonathan Freedland (@Freedland) June 9, 2023 1h ago 16. 58 EDT Boris Johnson’s resignation letter makes it clear he sees his departure as temporary. “It is very sad to be leaving parliament – at least for now,” he writes.

It echoes the reference to Cincinnatus he made when standing down as prime minister in which he, slightly less obviously, suggested he viewed his exit as less than permanent. The Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar says Johnson’s move today took many by surprise – and may have been because he wanted to walk on his own terms rather than be forced out by MPs or constituents. But, she argues, this time a comeback may be beyond him but warns of his ability to cause chaos from the sidelines.

There is no sign that Johnson is planning to go quietly, and every indication that he will continue lobbing political hand grenades from the sidelines, even as he tours the globe making millions from speaking engagements. Johnson has already taken parting shots at Sunak, telling him the party needs “urgently to recapture its sense of momentum”, make the most of Brexit, cut business and personal taxes, push for a free trade deal with the US and in essence “not be afraid to be a properly Conservative government”. The former prime minister has long relished comparisons with his historical and political hero, Winston Churchill, who was returned to office in 1951 despite losing the 1950 election, and went on to serve as prime minister for another four years.

But despite his reputation for staging gravity-defying political comebacks, both Tory MPs and others from across Westminster really do believe that it is over for Boris Johnson this time. Boris Johnson’s hopes for a comeback must surely now be futile ones Read more 1h ago 16. 47 EDT Andrea Jenkyns , the Tory MP for Morley and Outwood who was nominated for a damehood by Boris Johnson , has said she will not resign in the wake of the former prime minister’s resignation.

She tweeted: “To the journalists calling me tonight, just to clarify I am certainly not resigning. It’s a great honour to serve my constituents & our great country. The unjust events & BorisJohnson resignation tonight has made me more determined to stand up to the blob wherever they reside.

” 1h ago 16. 46 EDT Earlier today, the Cabinet Office released a letter telling the Covid inquiry that Boris Johnson’s diaries from his time as prime minister are their property and exist to record his engagement. They say they are not personal diaries.

The letter says that they are working with security services in regards to turning on Johnson’s old phone so that the inquiry can investigate his WhatsApp messages. ITV News’s deputy political editor Anushka Asthana shared this tweet MEANWHILE Cabinet office put out this letter today- telling the Covid inquiry that Boris Johnson’s diaries are govt property/ and not his. And they won’t hand over unredacted while the judicial review is still underway.

It’s due on June 30 👇 pic. twitter. com/HbnTtfNJ6q — Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) June 9, 2023 1h ago 16.

41 EDT Guardian columnist Hugh Muir has written about Boris Johnson’s honours list , saying it is shoddy. disheartening but undeniably him . If nothing became Boris Johnson more than the manner of his leaving No 10, nothing says more about the political rot he accelerated than the honours list that trails behind him and his announcement tonight that he will quit parliament having been told he faces ignominious suspension.

To scan the list that was perhaps his final act in frontline politics is to relive the era of cronyism and maladministration that he inflicted on the country. It redefined the very idea of honours as a reward for public service, replacing it with the sort of cheap favour you bestow on friends by buying them a seaside hat or a round in the pub. It’s Boris Johnson’s disheartening, shoddy honours list – and it becomes him | Hugh Muir Read more 1h ago 16.

35 EDT The SNP’s leader in Westminster Stephen Flynn has joined the criticism of Boris Johnson . He said: “Good riddance. No one in Scotland will shed a tear to see the back of Boris Johnson.

“The SNP will be working hard for every vote at the next election, so Scotland can get rid of these rotten Tory governments for good with independence. ” Newest Newest Previous 1 of 8 Next Oldest Oldest Topics Politics Politics live with Andrew Sparrow Conservatives Labour Rishi Sunak Boris Johnson Keir Starmer Rachel Reeves Reuse this content.