Johnson resigns - with immediate effect: 'Sad'

UK  

Boris Johnson resigns  

Of:  

Peter Schwartz  

Published: Less than 2 hours ago  

Updated: Less than 20 min ago 

NEWS 

Boris Johnson is leaving the British Parliament with immediate effect, reports Sky News. 

The statement comes shortly after he was told he would be sanctioned for misleading Parliament during the Partygate scandal. 

"I am horrified that I could be forced out in an undemocratic way," he says in a statement.

Boris Johnson on his way to a hearing in Parliament in London earlier this year. Photo: David Cliff/AP  

According to Johnson, he has received a letter from the committee investigating whether he lied to other MPs about the Partygate scandal. 

"They make it clear to me that they intend to use it to drive me out of Parliament," Johnson said in a statement.  

He continues.  

“It is very sad to leave. But above all, I am proud of what we achieved during my time as Prime Minister: Brexit and our leading role in global support for Ukraine," says Johnson. 

Johnson: "A sham court"  

According to Johnson, his political enemies have wanted revenge on him since the Brexit campaign in 2016, writes the Independent. In the statement, he called the inquiry now awaiting him an attempt to force him out and called the committee a "kangaroo court", loosely translated as sham court.

 "It is very sad to leave Parliament, but above all I am appalled and bewildered that I can be forced out in an undemocratic and extremely partisan way by a committee chaired by Harriet Harman," he continues.  

Attacking Sunak 

In the farewell statement, Johnson takes the opportunity to give the boot to current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government. 

"When I left the government position last year, the government was only a couple of points behind in the polls. That gap has now increased massively,” says Johnson.  

Mocked by competitors 

The opposition parties Labor and the Liberal Democrats have both reacted to Boris' resignation.  

“Always someone else's fault. Glad he's leaving. He has lowered the reputation of our country, our politics and our democracy," writes Labor's Jo Stevens in a tweet.

The Liberal Democrats' deputy party leader Daisy Cooper expresses herself similarly. 

"Nice to get rid of him," she writes on Twitte.