His decision will put pressure on other ministers responsible for the criminal justice system, including his boss, Dominique Raab, the justice minister who publicly backed Mr Johnson following the announcement of the fines on Tuesday.
Priti Patel, the interior minister, Keith Malthaus, the police minister, and Suela Braverman, the attorney general, were advised not to express public support for Mr Johnson because of their “supervisory” roles in criminal justice, although they are all strong supporters. .
David Gauck, a former justice minister, said he was “not surprised” by Lord Wolfson’s resignation, adding: “I think this is a particularly embarrassing issue for anyone in the Justice Department or in this sense for law enforcement officials.”
This comes as sources close to the partygate investigation have revealed that Mr Johnson is facing a second fine after attending and delivering a speech at an outgoing party for Lee Kane, his director of communications, on 13 November 2020. d.
Understandably, he stayed at the rally for a while, which makes it difficult for him to claim that this was an official event and that he had a “reasonable excuse” to be there.
However, Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, said on Wednesday that Mr Johnson would not resign, even if he was repeatedly fined in the Met Police investigation into Operation Hillman. The prime minister reportedly attended six of the 12 events under investigation.
Mr Hart told Times Radio: “I don’t necessarily see the difference between one or two [fines]for example, the principle is the same.
“Personally, I do not think that for people in public life – or any other sphere of life in this sense – this must necessarily be accompanied by another punishment, which is the removal of your work or similar.
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