LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) – Former British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is stepping down as a member of parliament with
immediate effect, triggering a by-election in his marginal seat.
Below is his statement. Reuters has not verified claims made
by Johnson.
I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee
making it clear – much to my amazement – that they are
determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of
parliament.
They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I
knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.
They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I
was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had
been briefed to say, like any other minister. They know that I
corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I
and every other senior official and minister – including the
current Prime Minister and then occupant of the same building,
Rishi Sunak – believed that we were working lawfully together.
I have been an MP since 2001. I take my responsibilities
seriously. I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the
Committee know it. But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the
truth because from the outset their purpose has not been to
discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my
mind when I spoke in the Commons.
Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty,
regardless of the facts. This is the very definition of a
kangaroo court.
Most members of the Committee – especially the chair – had
already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt
before they had even seen the evidence. They should have recused
themselves.
In retrospect it was naive and trusting of me to think that
these proceedings could be remotely useful or fair. But I was
determined to believe in the system, and in justice, and to
vindicate what I knew to be the truth.
It was the same faith in the impartiality of our systems
that led me to commission Sue Gray. It is clear that my faith
has been misplaced. Of course, it suits the Labour Party, the
Liberal Democrats, and the SNP to do whatever they can to remove
me from parliament.
Sadly, as we saw in July last year, there are currently some
Tory MPs who share that view. I am not alone in thinking that
there is a witch hunt underway, to take revenge for Brexit and
ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.
My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there
has been a concerted attempt to bring it about. I am afraid I no
longer believe that it is any coincidence that Sue Gray – who
investigated gatherings in Number 10 – is now the chief of staff
designate of the Labour leader.
Nor do I believe that it is any coincidence that her
supposedly impartial chief counsel, Daniel Stilitz KC, turned
out to be a strong Labour supporter who repeatedly tweeted
personal attacks on me and the government.
When I left office last year the government was only a
handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now
massively widened.
Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in
almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.
Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum
and its belief in what this country can do.
We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit and we
need in the next months to be setting out a pro-growth and
pro-investment agenda. We need to cut business and personal
taxes – and not just as pre-election gimmicks – rather than
endlessly putting them up.
We must not be afraid to be a properly Conservative
government.
Why have we so passively abandoned the prospect of a Free
Trade Deal with the US? Why have we junked measures to help
people into housing or to scrap EU directives or to promote
animal welfare?
We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed
by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17
million voted for Brexit.
I am now being forced out of parliament by a tiny handful of
people, with no evidence to back up their assertions, and
without the approval even of Conservative Party members let
alone the wider electorate.
I believe that a dangerous and unsettling precedent is being
set.
The Conservative Party has the time to recover its mojo and
its ambition and to win the next election. I had looked forward
to providing enthusiastic support as a backbench MP. Harriet
Harman’s committee has set out to make that objective completely
untenable.
The Committee’s report is riddled with inaccuracies and
reeks of prejudice but under their absurd and unjust process I
have no formal ability to challenge anything they say.
The Privileges Committee is there to protect the privileges
of parliament. That is a very important job. They should not be
using their powers – which have only been very recently designed
– to mount what is plainly a political hitjob on someone they
oppose.
It is in no one’s interest, however, that the process the
Committee has launched should continue for a single day further.
So I have today written to my Association in Uxbridge and
South Ruislip to say that I am stepping down forthwith and
triggering an immediate by-election.
I am very sorry to leave my wonderful constituency. It has
been a huge honour to serve them, both as Mayor and MP.
But I am proud that after what is cumulatively a 15 year
stint I have helped to deliver among other things a vast new
railway in the Elizabeth Line and full funding for a wonderful
new state of the art hospital for Hillingdon, where enabling
works have already begun.
I also remain hugely proud of all that we achieved in my
time in office as Prime Minister: getting Brexit done, winning
the biggest majority for 40 years and delivering the fastest
vaccine roll out of any major European country, as well as
leading global support for Ukraine.
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.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
