What changes has Boris Johnson made?
PM removed all references to
“integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest”
The primary alteration that has taken place within the code is that it now allows ministers to apologise rather than having to resign if they are deemed to have breached the rules. This comes as Johnson is facing an inquiry by the Commons Privileges Committee into whether he himself broke the code by misleading Parliament and telling them that there were no lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.
A Government policy statement said it was “disproportionate” to expect ministers to resign or be sacked for “minor” violations of the code’s standards. A lesser sanction, such as “some form of public apology, remedial action or removal of ministerial salary for a period” has been included in the update.
An additional major change sees the independent adviser now able to initiate an investigation into potential breaches of the code. Previously only the Prime Minister could do this, although the code’s updated version now states that the final decision will remain with the PM.
The Cabinet Office said in a statement: "The government has been mindful of the need to avoid incentives for trivial or vexatious complaints which may be made for partisan reasons. Such complaints can undermine public confidence in standards in public life rather than strengthen it."
Opposition parties are less than impressed with this decision as they feel there will now be less scrutiny on those in power. Labour said that the PM removed all references to “integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest” from his own foreword to “save his own skin” while Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “This Prime Minister is downgrading and debasing the principles of public life before our very eyes.”