Former UK premier Boris Johnson resigns as MP

LONDON

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday his resignation as MP over claims he misled parliament about breaking coronavirus rules.

Johnson said in a statement he is stepping down with immediate effect and maintained he did not lie.

It came after he received a report from the MP-led Privileges Committee into whether he misled parliament about lockdown parties at Downing Street.

Noting he has been an MP since 2001, Johnson said he takes his responsibilities seriously.

"I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the committee know it,” he said. "I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear - much to my amazement - that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament.”

Johnson was accused of misleading parliament about lockdown parties held in Downing Street while the UK was under COVID-19 restrictions during the pandemic.

"They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister," he said.

He claimed that its "purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts."

"They know that I corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I and every other senior official and minister - including the current prime minister and then occupant of the same building, Rishi Sunak - believed that we were working lawfully together," he said.

Johnson also said most members of the committee, "especially the chair had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks" about his guilt before even seeing the evidence.

Meanwhile, the Privileges Committee will meet Monday to conclude its inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPs.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is known as "a key Johnson ally,” expressed support, saying he has served the country and his constituency "with distinction."

"He led world in supporting Ukraine, got Brexit done, and was our most electorally successful Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher. Boris is a political titan whose legacy will stand the test of time," she wrote on Twitter.

Speaking before the committee in March, Johnson admitted misleading parliament, but denied doing it on purpose. "Hand on heart, I did not lie to the House,” he said.

Partygate was the name given to the scandal that saw dozens of parties held during the pandemic at the Prime Minister's Office and government departments that were exposed in the media.

Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015, was ousted by his party MPs last July following a series of allegations.