Boris Johnson announced he is quitting the Commons immediately, in a dramatic move that will trigger a by-election the Tories could lose and heaps pressure on Rishi Sunak.
The former UK prime minister said in a statement on Friday he was stepping down as a member of parliament in protest at the “kangaroo court” privileges committee, which is investigating whether he lied to MPs about lockdown parties in Downing Street.
It came hours after Number 10 published Johnson’s resignation honours list, in which he rewarded allies with peerages and other gongs, and days after he was passed the privileges committee’s draft findings into his conduct.
He hinted that he planned to make a return to the Commons, declaring he was leaving parliament “for now”.
Johnson also said there was a “witch hunt under way” in his own Tory party “to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.”
This is a developing story
Additional reporting by Peter Wells in New York
