Partygate: Boris Johnson accused of watering down rules with Ministerial Code changes in wake of Sue Gray report

Boris Johnson has been accused of watering down the rules for ministers after it was made clear they will not automatically lose their jobs if they breach the Ministerial Code.

The criticism comes as the drip-feed of no-confidence letters being submitted over the Prime Minister’s leadership continued yesterday as pressure grew around Mr Johnson following publication of the No 10 parties report.

Since senior civil servant Sue Gray published her investigation into lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street on Wednesday, there has been a steady trickle of Conservative MPs announcing they want a vote on Mr Johnson’s future as UK leader.

Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, added his name to that list yesteday, declaring that he did not think the Prime Minister’s explanations for attending events in No 10 were “credible”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and works and pensions secretary Therese Coffey during a visit to CityFibre Training Academy in Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

And Tory MP Paul Holmes, who resigned as a parliamentary private secretary – a ministerial aide – to home secretary Priti Patel, said he felt "shocked and appalled by what's been going on".

However, Mr Holmes did not state whether he had submitted a letter of no confidence, instead noting that reforms to the Downing Street set-up had been introduced in the wake of the party revelations.

The comments were delivered as a Government policy statement said it was “disproportionate” to expect ministers to resign or face the sack for “minor” violations of the code’s provisions.

Instead it has been updated, giving Mr Johnson the option of ordering a lesser sanction such as “some form of public apology, remedial action or removal of ministerial salary for a period”.

It had previously expected ministers should go if they were found to have breached the code.

At the same time Mr Johnson has drawn backing from allowing his independent adviser on the code, Lord Geidt, to mount investigations into possible violations on his own initiative.

Under his revised terms of reference, there will be an “enhanced process” to enable him to initiate inquiries, but he will still require the Prime Minister’s consent before going ahead.

“Reflecting the Prime Minister’s accountability for the conduct of the executive, it is important that a role is retained for the Prime Minister in decisions about investigations,” the statement said.

The Prime Minister is now facing an inquiry by the Commons Privileges Committee into whether he misled Parliament into what happened.

Labour said Mr Johnson had removed all references to “integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest” from his own foreword to the code to “save his own skin”.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “This Prime Minister is downgrading and debasing the principles of public life before our very eyes.

“In a week when Boris Johnson’s lies to Parliament about industrial rule-breaking at the heart of Government were finally exposed, he should be tendering his resignation, but is instead watering down the rules to save his own skin.

“Once again, Boris Johnson has demonstrated he is not serious about his pledge to address the scandal and sleaze engulfing his Government or the frequent and flagrant breaches of standards and rule-breaking that have taken place on his watch.”

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “This is an appalling attempt by Boris Johnson to rig the rules to get himself off the hook.

“The Prime Minister shouldn’t be allowed to decide on his own punishment – with zero accountability.

“This is making him judge and jury in his own case.

“If the Privileges Committee finds Boris Johnson lied to Parliament, surely Conservative MPs will have no choice but to sack him.”

Posting a statement on his website, Sir Bob, the MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, meanwhile said: “I have listened carefully to the explanations the Prime Minister has given, in Parliament and elsewhere, and, regrettably, do not find his assertions to be credible.

“That is why, with a heavy heart, I submitted a letter of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady on Wednesday afternoon.”

The former minister said a “change in leadership is required” if trust in politics was to be restored following the so-called partygate saga.

A vote on the Prime Minister’s future will be held if 54 of his MPs write to Sir Graham, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, declaring they have lost confidence in their leader.

Twenty Tories have publicly called for his resignation so far, with many critics holding back due to the war in Ukraine.

Others may have called for a no-confidence vote in private, however, as Sir Graham does not publicly reveal how many letters he has received.

Sir Bob’s intervention makes him the fifth Tory MP to call for Mr Johnson to go since the full Gray report was released.

Mr Johnson separately described the UK Government’s emergency cost-of-living packaged – announced less than 24 hours after the publication of the Gray report – as a “big bazooka” which would support families until the surge in energy prices abated.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the country still faced a “bumpy time” due to the soaring costs of oil and gas, but said he was confident it would emerge in a “much, much stronger position”.

Earlier, Chancellor Rishi Sunak – who on Thursday announced a further £21 billion of support for households – indicated he could not rule out the need for further measures if global prices remain high.

But speaking during a visit to Stockton-on-Tees, Mr Johnson appeared to suggest the measures set out in the Commons – with up to £1,200 for eight million homes across the country – should be enough.

“What we are doing now is making sure we support people through tough times – it’s a big bazooka,” he said.

“I’m not going to pretend that this is going to fix everything for everybody immediately. There is still going to be pressure.

“But it is a very, very substantial commitment by the Government to getting us through what will be still a bumpy time with the increase in energy prices around the world.”