Scandal after scandal: timeline of Tory sleaze
under Boris Johnson
PM’s tenure has been characterised by disrepute, from
lockdown breaches to serious sexual assaults
Josh
Halliday
Fri 1 Jul
2022 14.04 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/01/scandal-timeline-tory-sleaze-boris-johnson
Boris Johnson’s premiership has been characterised by
a string of scandals since he entered No 10 in 2019. From “Pestminster” to
“Wallpapergate”, the prime minister has sought to ride out every storm during
his two and a half years in charge. Here is a timeline of the sleaze so far:
25 May 2020
Dominic
Cummings refuses to resign or apologise after the Guardian and Mirror reveal
his lockdown-busting trips to north-east England at the height of Covid-19.
Johnson stands by his chief aide despite fury from the public, MPs and
scientists.
30 July
2020
Charlie
Elphicke is found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against two women,
less than a year after resigning as the Conservative MP for Dover. Elphicke had
denied the three charges, two of which related to a parliamentary worker. He
was later sentenced to two years in prison. His wife, Natalie Elphicke,
succeeded him as MP for Dover in December 2019.
25 May 2021
Rob
Roberts, the Conservative MP for Delyn in north Wales, is found by parliament’s
independent expert panel to have made “significant” repeated unwanted sexual
advances towards a former member of staff, as well as inappropriate comments of
a sexual nature. He is suspended for 12 weeks by the Conservatives but allowed
to rejoin the party in October 2021.
28 May 2021
Johnson
“unwisely” embarked on a £112,000 refurbishment of his official Downing Street
flat without knowing how it would be paid for, according to a report by the
ethics adviser Christopher Geidt. However, it later emerges that Geidt was not
given crucial text messages between Johnson and the Conservative donor David
Brownlow, prompting an apology from the prime minister.
26 June
2021
Matt Hancock
resigns as health secretary after it emerged he broke social distancing rules
by kissing his longtime friend and close aide, Gina Coladangelo, in his
ministerial office. The resignation is a huge blow to the authority of Johnson,
who had stood by Hancock when the story broke 24 hours earlier.
8 July 2021
Johnson is
reprimanded by parliament’s committee on standards for failing to “establish
the full facts” about a free holiday to a luxury villa in Mustique. The
accommodation was organised by David Ross, the Tory donor and co-founder of
Carphone Warehouse, after Johnson “sought and was offered” the use of Ross’s
villa, the report found.
26 October
2021
The former
Tory minister Owen Paterson is found by parliament’s standards watchdog to have
committed an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules. Paterson repeatedly lobbied
the government on behalf of two companies that were paying him more than
£100,000 a year, the watchdog found. The MP, who maintained his innocence,
resigns as the Conservative representative for North Shropshire in November
2021. The subsequent byelection is won by the Liberal Democrats on 16 December
2021.
10 December
2021
The former
Conservative minister Andrew Griffiths is found by a high court judge to have
raped his wife and subjected her to coercive control. Griffiths, who denied the
allegations, had stepped down as an MP in November 2019 after a series of
claims about his conduct. His wife, Kate Griffiths, who left him when the
original stories broke, succeeds him as MP for Burton in Staffordshire.
18 December
2021
Simon Case,
the UK’s most senior civil servant, steps down from chairing the investigation
into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street after claims emerged he had
hosted an event himself over the same period. The senior civil servant Sue Gray
takes over.
6 January
2022
Johnson is
revealed to have sought funds to help cover a £112,000 makeover of his Downing
Street flat from a Conservative donor while promising to consider plans for a
“great exhibition”. Labour accuses the prime minister of corruption, while
Johnson apologises for failing to disclose crucial WhatsApp messages to his
ethics adviser, Lord Geidt, the previous spring.
2 April
2022
David
Warburton, the Conservative MP for Somerton and Frome, is suspended from the
Tory parliamentary party after a series of allegations relating to sexual
harassment and cocaine use. A investigation by Westminster’s independent
complaints and grievance scheme is ongoing as of 1 July.
11 April
2022
Imran Ahmad
Khan, the Conservative MP for Wakefield, is found guilty of sexually assaulting
a 15-year-old boy after plying him with alcohol at a party in 2008. He resigns
as an MP on 28 April, triggering a byelection that Labour wins on 23 June.
29 April
2022
Neil
Parish, the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton, resigns his seat after
admitting he twice watched pornography in the House of Commons chamber. His
resignation prompts a byelection that results in a decisive Liberal Democrat
victory on 23 June.
17 May 2022
An unnamed
Conservative MP is arrested on suspicion of rape and other sexual offences. The
MP, who has not been publicly named, is ordered to stay away from Westminster
while under investigation by the Metropolitan police. He remains on bail as of
1 July.
25 May 2022
Sue Gray
publishes a damning report into lockdown-busting parties across Whitehall,
revealing that government staff had drunken brawls, vomited and sang karaoke
until dawn while the UK observed strict Covid-19 restrictions on socialising.
The prime minister says he is “humbled” and “appalled” but critics doubt his
contrition and calls for his resignation grow louder.
30 June
2022
Chris
Pincher, the Conservative deputy chief whip, resigns after admitting he had
“embarrassed myself and other people” following reports that he drunkenly
groped two men at a private club. It is the second time Pincher has resigned
from the whips’ office, having previously stood down in 2017 after he was
reported to have made an unwanted pass at a Tory activist.
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