Tory Minister Quits, MPs Blast Boris Johnson For Lying

The Conservative Party has been left reeling after a minister resigned, citing Boris Johnson's leadership as the reason, Rachel Hagan, Tara Fair, and Jack Walters reported for the UK’s Daily Express.

Photo Insert: Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford, Angela Richardson

Angela Richardson, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford, resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove this evening, due to her "deep disappointment" in Boris Johnson. She said: "Sue Gray's report published today clearly states that there were failings at No 10 that let us all down... there could have been an early acknowledgment and apology."

The blow comes after the Prime Minister faced a two-hour session in the Commons to answer questions about the findings of Sue Gray's report. Former Prime Minister Theresa May asked Johnson whether he had misunderstood the Covid rules, not read them or simply ignored them.

Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Ian Blackford said he has no regrets over being thrown out of the Commons for accusing Johnson of having “wilfully misled Parliament.”Blackford said that accusing the Prime Minister of lying was something he would do again as he repeated the accusation outside the chamber.

He said: “I mean, at the end of the day, this is a Prime Minister that we know has misled parliament. And all I did was stand up and speak truth to power and apparently in the House of Commons, that’s not permissible.”

Former Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has pointed out that Matt Hancock resigned after "one kiss in private" but Johnson has refused to take responsibility in the same way.

He told Sky News: "We had a resignation some time ago of Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary - he resigned because of one kiss he had, improperly as it were, with his girlfriend in private, but it was filmed and that was enough to make him resign because he was the Health Secretary in charge of the rules he was breaking.

"One kiss. What we are discussing now is a series of events over a year and a half, 16 parties in Downing St or nearby and the Prime Minister attending some of them and claiming they were work events."

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