UK politics reeling from ex-PM's exit

LONDON — Former British prime minister Boris Johnson's departure from parliament over COVID-19 lockdown-breaking parties sparked fevered speculation on Saturday over his and the current government's future, with allies and enemies trading barbs.

Johnson announced he was leaving as a member of parliament on Friday, saying he had been forced out in a stitch-up by his political opponents.

One of Johnson's allies quit earlier on Friday, while another resigned on Saturday, triggering three by-elections for a government languishing in the polls and heaping pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The 58-year-old Johnson has been under investigation by a cross-party committee about whether he deliberately lied to parliament over parties when he was in office. In evidence earlier this year, he insisted he had not.

But as the committee prepares to make public its findings, he said they had contacted him "making it clear … they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament".

The Privileges Committee, which has a majority of MPs from his own Conservative party, has powers to impose sanctions for misleading parliament, including suspension.

By quitting, Johnson avoids the consequences of a humiliating fight to remain an MP in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in northwest London, where he holds a slim majority of just over 7,000.

He denounced the committee, chaired by veteran opposition Labour MP Harriet Harman, as a "kangaroo court".

'Egregious bias'

"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… with such egregious bias," he said.

He claimed the committee's report, which has not been published, was "riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice", and he had "no formal ability to challenge anything they say".

Responding to the resignation, the Privileges Committee said Johnson "impugned the integrity of the House by his statement".

Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries also quit as an MP on Friday, while fellow supporter Nigel Adams announced on Saturday that he was leaving, meaning the prime minister, whom Johnson partly blames for his downfall, faces three daunting election tests.

Johnson's ability to generate strong feelings of admiration or hate was reflected in the reaction to his announcement. The Daily Mirror likened him to "a criminal who refuses to come to court for his sentencing".

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the public, battling a cost-of-living crisis, had enough of the "never-ending Tory soap opera" and her opposite number with the smaller Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, said it was "good riddance".

But Johnson's supporters rallied behind him, lauding his achievements in pushing through Brexit and galvanizing support for Ukraine.

Johnson's resignation is likely to be seen as his revenge on Sunak, whose Tories are well down in the polls with a general election looming next year.

Agencies Via Xinhua