Boris Johnson, a former ethics adviser, said Downing Street’s reason for his resignation was “distraction” and doubled allegations that the government wanted to violate international law.
After leaving this week dramatically, Christopher Hyde said his explanation used too much “cautious language”, which led to “some confusion about the exact reason for my decision.”
In Lord Hyde’s initial letter to No. 10 on Wednesday, he said he had been asked to advise on a “disgusting” violation of the ministerial code. Johnson’s response suggests that this is due to a plan to extend steel tariffs in violation of World Trade Organization rules.
However, after much mystery as to why Geidt decided to leave the issue, rather than greater concerns about Partygate, he issued an “explanation of the reasons for my departure.” “There was some confusion about the exact reason for my decision,” he wrote in a letter to Tory MP William Ragg, chairman of the Committee on Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (PACAC).
“My letter is interpreted as suggesting that an important issue of principle is limited to some close and technical consideration of steel tariffs. The cautious language of my letter may not have been able to adequately explain the far broader scope of my objection.
Hyde, the Queen’s former personal secretary, said the focus on the issue of steel tariffs was distracting and “just an example of what may still be a deliberate breach by the United Kingdom of its obligations under international law, such as in view of the government’s widely publicized openness to this. “
While the explicit reference to international law was removed from the ministerial code in 2015, Hyde said there was “no explicit derogation, no omission recorded in the code to relieve individual ministers of their own responsibilities.” He said, given his commitment to integrity, “I could not be a party to counseling for possible violations of the law.”
Angela Raynor, the Labor’s deputy leader, said Hyde had left “because of Boris Johnson’s hateful behavior on Downing Street” and added: that door. ”
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Karin Smith, a Labor MP from the PACAC, said Geidt’s letter provided “useful clarity” but that “it was not the steel that broke the camel’s back”.
The government was accused earlier this week of threatening to violate international law by publishing plans to unilaterally repeal the Northern Ireland Protocol, signed by Johnson as part of its Brexit agreement.
Insiders in Westminster have speculated that Gade may have referred to the issue without explicitly mentioning it in his latest letter, citing fears of violations of international law by ministers.
Hyde is the second ethics adviser to leave Johnson. In November 2020, Alex Allen resigned after his finding that Interior Minister Priti Patel had violated the ministerial code by harassing officials was rejected by No. 10.
Downing Street has begun a review of its role as an ethics adviser and has not confirmed whether it will replace Hyde.
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