Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s career involved several documented controversies and ethics investigations. In April 2022, he became the first sitting British prime minister sanctioned by police, receiving a £50 fine for attending a lockdown-breaking birthday gathering in 2020. A 2023 Privileges Committee report concluded he deliberately misled Parliament regarding these events, committing contempt by failing to be truthful and impugning the committee. Regarding financial conduct, the Conservative Party was fined £17,800 in December 2021 after failing to report that a donor paid over £200,000 for Downing Street flat renovations. In 2019, Johnson was required to apologize for failing to declare over £52,000 in outside earnings, and the Commons Standards Committee previously criticized his handling of property interest disclosures. Additionally, an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct found that while criminal charges were not warranted regarding his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, he should have declared an interest concerning £25,000 in public funds awarded to her firm. In other matters, the Supreme Court ruled in September 2019 that his prorogation of Parliament was unlawful. In July 2022, his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against MP Chris Pincher, whom he had appointed as deputy chief whip, triggered mass government resignations leading to his departure as prime minister.