Over twelve hours after Lord Geidt resigned from government, Downing Street has published his resignation letter. In his letter tendering his resignation as the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on minister’s interests, Geidt raises his concerns over partygate – noting how he ‘alluded’ to his ‘frustration’ previously – namely over Johnson’s failure to make any public reference to how his conduct related to the ministerial code.
However, he says that despite his misgivings over Johnson’s handling of the episode and whether the fixed penalty notice counted as a breach, he had ultimately concluded that ‘it was possible to continue credibly as Independent Adviser, albeit by a very small margin’.
What pushed Geidt over the edge relates to a request to review a ‘deliberate and purposeful’ breach of the ministerial code.
Instead, what pushed Geidt over the edge relates to a more recent request to review what would be a ‘deliberate and purposeful’ breach of the ministerial code:
‘This week, however, I was tasked to offer a view about the government’s intention to consider measures which risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code.
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