Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stepped down as a member of parliament with...
Digital Desk: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stepped down as a member of parliament with immediate effect, prompting a by-election in his marginal seat.
Johnson has been fighting for his political fate, with a parliamentary probe looking into whether he misled the House of Commons when he claimed that all COVID-19 requirements had been followed.
"It is very painful to be leaving parliament - at least for the time being," Johnson said in a statement. "I am being forced out by a very small group of people, who have no evidence to support their claims, and who do not even the support of Conservative party members, let alone the majority of the electorate," he added.
If the privileges committee found Johnson had misled parliament recklessly or knowingly, they might have recommended that he be suspended from parliament for more than 10 days, perhaps prompting an election for his seat.
The former prime minister stated that he had received a letter from the "privileges committee making it clear - much to my surprise - that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament."
Johnson, whose premiership was ended in part by outrage in his own party and across Britain by lockdown parties that broke COVID rules at his Downing Street office and mansion, accused the committee of behaving as the "very definition of a kangaroo court" and claimed that their actions were unconstitutional.
"Most members of the committee, particularly the chair, had already made highly prejudiced comments about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence," he said.
"In retrospect, I was naive and trusting to believe that these proceedings could possibly be useful or fair," he added.
