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The Boris Johnson era is ending. What about Westminster sleaze culture?

  • Era of scandal-ridden Boris Johnson coming to end after his own party ministers pushed him to resign as prime minister
  • Johnson’s knowledge about sexual misconduct allegations against a Conservative MP proved one scandal too many

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The Palace of Westminster, the meeting place of the Houses of Parliament, in London. Photo: Bloomberg
Hilary Clarkein London

Boris Johnson’s downfall as Britain’s prime minister came after he defiantly survived numerous scandals and missteps during three years in office. The final straw involved a Tory MP who drunkenly groped two men at a private club.

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Chris Pincher was deputy chief whip for the Conservative Party before he quit his post in disgrace last week. Other past allegations about Pincher then emerged, and that Johnson knew about them in 2019, but still appointed him in February this year.

Support for Johnson quickly collapsed after he offered inconsistent narratives, and finally an apology for not remembering allegations about Pincher.

Johnson’s critics demanded he quit as prime minister, and dozens of ministers and aides forced his departure announcement on Thursday by resigning from his government. Johnson did not refer to Pincher when he quit as Conservative Party leader, but blamed the “herd instinct” in Westminster for his own demise.

“Them’s the breaks,” Johnson said, refusing to admit his mistakes.

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Pincher’s was at least the sixth publicly reported scandal involving the alleged sexual misconduct of an MP in the Johnson government. It again highlighted the underbelly of British politics, which has a history of sleaze scandals including those of sexual nature.

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