The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Boris resigns, Trump is arrested and Ukraine’s counter-offensive begins

issue 17 June 2023

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Boris Johnson (having had sight of the report by the Commons Privileges Committee on his conduct concerning Covid regulations) called it a ‘kangaroo court’ and left parliament immediately; to be disqualified as an MP he was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham. His majority at Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where there will now be a by-election, was 7,210. ‘Most members of the Committee – especially the chair – had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence,’ he said, adding: ‘I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.’

Mr Johnson also blamed Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, for blocking eight nominations for peerages that he’d made on leaving office as prime minister.

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