‘Victim of witch-hunt’: Boris quits as lawmaker over ‘Partygate’ report

London, June 10

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Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has abruptly resigned as a lawmaker, claiming he was the “victim of a witch-hunt”, after being told by a parliamentary committee that he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street during his premiership.

Johnson, 58, one of the main architects of Brexit, compared the Privileges Committee probe to a “kangaroo court” as he quit.

Johnson’s decision to resign as a Member of Parliament came on Friday as he received a confidential letter from the MP-led Privileges Committee over the crucial matter.

The former Conservative party leader said he was “bewildered and appalled” after receiving the letter from the committee, which is investigating whether he lied to British lawmakers over lockdown-breaking parties during the pandemic, known as ‘Partygate.’ Johnson accused the Commons inquiry of attempting to “drive me out”.

In a statement, he said: “They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.” Earlier on Friday, he received a copy of the yet-to-be-published report, which he claimed was “riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice”.

Last year, the Metropolitan Police issued Johnson and then-finance minister Rishi Sunak who is currently Prime Minister with a fine for attending a gathering in Downing Street during the Covid lockdown, making Johnson the first sitting UK PM to be found guilty of breaking the law.