Yes, you read that correctly
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson has confirmed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ultimately be the one that decides whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules.
This is despite the fact that it is Johnson himself who is under investigation.
Whilst Lord Geidt, the independent advisor on ministerial standards, will be leading the investigation into the PM’s conduct, it is Johnson who will remain the “ultimate arbiter” of whether he broke the ministerial code.
Per the Mirror, his spokesperson said: “As the ultimate arbiter of the code, the responsible for deciding on an investigation and the drawing of final conclusions from it, rightly remains the responsibility of the Prime Minister. That’s been the case under successive governments.”
Lord Geidt’s findings will still be published “in the normal way, as you’d expect” the spokesperson added.
When asked whether the Tory leader would be recusing himself due to the blatant conflict of interest, the spokesperson replied: “The code’s very clearly set out on that, with regards the role of the Prime Minister in this, and that hasn’t changed.”
There are now two investigations underway looking at the initial source of funding for redecorations of the Prime Minister and his fiancee’s Downing Street flat.
Along with Lord Geidt’s investigation, it was announced on Monday that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case would also be leading an inquiry into the funding.
So there you go. Boris Johnson will be deciding whether he broke any rules or not.
I’m on tenterhooks to await what conclusion he may reach…
