Earlier this year, Boris Johnson made history and became the first sitting PM to break the law, proving he is no stranger to a scandal.
Over his political career there were dozens of times when the 58-year-old lied or knowingly misled the public for his own gain. He's also made a number of racist comments, including when he branded people wearing Muslim face veils as "looking like letter boxes".
Mr Johnson used a racist description of Barack Obama at the height of the EU referendum in 2016. He has faced days of pressure to quit, with an avalanche of resignations from cabinet ministers and others in government making his position impossible. Today he finally relented and announced he would be stepping down as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister.
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In the wake of his resignation, we have compiled a list of Boris Johnson's gaffes, lies and scandals.
1. When he insulted the entire city of Liverpool
Tory leader Michael Howard forced the MP to visit Liverpool to apologise in 2004 after he blamed fans for Hillsborough - and accused citizens of “wallowing in victim status”.
The Spectator - which he was editing at the time - printed an editorial saying the tragedy was “no excuse for Liverpool’s failure to acknowledge, even to this day, the part played in the disaster by drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground that Saturday afternoon.”
Smearing Liverpudlians the editorial added: “They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent their victim status; yet at the same time they wallow in it.”
An independent report and the 2016 inquests ruled there was nothing to suggest fans’ behaviour contributed to the disaster. In 2012 Mr Johnson apologised again, admitting claims about football fans' behaviour were a “lie”.
2. When he was sacked for lying about an affair
In 2004 he was sacked as Shadow Arts Minister after aides to leader Michael Howard decided he had lied about an affair. Mr Johnson denied reports of a four-year fling with journalist Petronella Wyatt, saying: “I have not had an affair with Petronella. It is complete balderdash.”
But her mother said the affair did happen - and Petronella had an abortion as a result.
Lady Verushka Wyatt added: “The reason she went out with him was because he said he was going to marry her.” Ms Wyatt admits the pair had a “tendresse”.
Michael Howard added: “My director of communications at the time was convinced Boris had lied to him.”
3. When he endangered a British mum jailed in Iran
Boris Johnson worsened the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in loose comments he made as Foreign Secretary in 2017. He wrongly told MPs the British mum, held in Iran on spying charges, was “teaching people journalism”.
That undermined her defence that she was on holiday - one backed up by her employers. Four days after Mr Johnson’s comments she was threatened with five more years’ jail on charges of “propaganda against the regime”.
4. When he mocked Muslim women as 'letterboxes'
In August 2018 he branded Muslim face veils “oppressive”, “weird and bullying” and said it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letterboxes." Any female student who turned up to school "looking like a bank robber" should be asked to remove their face covering, he added.
He went on to argue against banning the burqa in public, but his snide remarks prompted outrage, including from senior Tories. He refused to apologise and was cleared of breaching the Conservative Party code of conduct.
5. When he used racist terms to describe Barack Obama
Mr Johnson used a racist description of Barack Obama at the height of the EU referendum in 2016. He claimed a bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office had been removed around the time the US President moved in.
He remarked: “Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender." Those condemning his “nasty” comments included Winston Churchill’s Tory grandson.
Barack Obama - who was born in the US - revealed he had actually moved the bust to a prime spot outside his private office, saying: "I love Winston Churchill. Love the guy."
6. When he propagated the £350m-a-week Brexit lie
Boris Johnson was a figurehead of the 2016 Vote Leave campaign, fuelling their lie that the UK sent the EU £350million a week. He rode the infamous battle bus emblazoned with the figure and appeared in front of a banner that said: “Let’s give our NHS the £350million the EU takes every week.”
The UK Statistics Authority said the figure was £285m a week, without factoring EU payments to the UK. With only the most basic EU payments (directly to the UK public sector) factored in, that dropped to £190m.
He carried on using the debunked figure for more than a year and was accused of a “clear misuse of official statistics” by the data watchdog.
7. When he repeatedly ignored conflict-of-interest rules
Boris Johnson broke rules on financial interests three times in less than a year. He breached the Ministerial Code in August 2018 by starting a £275,000-a-year newspaper column just three days after quitting as Foreign Secretary. In December 2018 he was ordered to apologise for failing to declare £52,723 of income on time.
And in April 2019 he was 11 months late registering his 20% share in a property in Somerset. Parliament’s Standards Commissioner accused him of a “lack of respect” for the system adding: "I do not accept that this was an inadvertent breach of the rules."
8. When he blew millions on his Garden Bridge ‘vanity project’
As mayor, Boris Johnson backed a failed plan for a “floating paradise” across the River Thames that blew £43million of public money. The Garden Bridge was beset by controversy from the start until it was finally scrapped by his successor Sadiq Khan in 2017.
Critics blasted the link for being privately run, yet publicly-subsidised, while there was a more pressing need for Thames crossings elsewhere. Yet Boris Johnson was a doughty defender of the “vanity project” - even making a secretive trip to San Francisco in 2013 in a bid to get Apple to sponsor it.
9. When he wasted £300,000 on illegal water cannon
As London mayor he paid £322,000 for three second-hand water cannon devices after the 2014 riots. The bill included £32,004 for low emission zone compliance, £19,035 for re-painting and almost £1,000 to fit CD players.
But he bought them before they had been licensed for use in Britain. And they were left to rust in a police firing range after their use was ruled illegal by then-Home Secretary Theresa May.
Finally in 2018 they were sold for scrap - for the princely sum of £11,025.
10. When he had a blazing row with his partner in her flat
Police were called to the flat Boris Johnson, 55, shared with 31-year-old girlfriend Carrie Symonds after a blazing row in June 2019. Neighbour Tom Penn dialled 999 after he heard "get off me" and "get out of my flat”, and "a loud scream and banging, followed by silence."
He then handed a tape of the incident to the Guardian newspaper - prompting a furious backlash from Boris Johnson supporters. Boris Johnson refused to comment on the incident, citing his privacy.
But he was accused of hypocrisy when a “staged” loved-up photo of him and Ms Symonds was then leaked to the press.
11. When it took years to confirm how many children he had
Boris Johnson has at least seven children but he has spent years refusing to confirm the exact number.
He split from wife Marina Wheeler. The couple, who married in 1993, had four children - Lara, Milo Arthur, Cassia Peaches, and Theodore Apollo.
But he has had multiple affairs, including the one with Petronella Wyatt (above) which led to a pregnancy that was terminated.
And a 2013 court ruling said the public were entitled to know about claims that one affair - with art consultant Helen Macintyre - resulted in a daughter who was his, Stephanie. Finally he has had two children, Wilfred and Romy, with wife Carrie.
Before Romy’s birth he told a US interviewer he had six kids.
12. When he made a glib remark about ‘dead bodies' in Libya
The then-Foreign Secretary was slammed in 2017 for saying the Libyan city of Sirte had a bright future - as soon as they "clear the dead bodies away". The crass gaffe drew gasps at an event during the Conservative Party conference.
He said: "They've got a brilliant vision to turn Sirte, with the help of the municipality of Sirte, to turn it into the next Dubai. The only thing they've got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then we'll be there."
13. When he recited a colonial-era poem in Myanmar
In an incredible diplomatic gaffe in 2017, he recited the opening verse to Rudyard Kipling's The Road to Mandalay at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar's capital Yangon.
Kipling’s poem captures the nostalgia of a retired serviceman looking back on his colonial service and a Burmese girl he kissed. The ambassador, Andrew Patrick, said between gritted teeth "probably not a good idea" and added: "Not appropriate".
14. When he boasted about whisky in a Sikh temple
The Foreign Secretary was berated at a Sikh temple for talking about whisky exports to India – despite alcohol being forbidden in the faith.
He said at the Bristol temple in 2017: “Whenever we go to India, to Mumbai or to Delhi, we have to bring ‘clinkie’ in our luggage.
“We have to bring Johnnie Walker, we have to bring whisky because as you may know there is a duty of 150% in India on imports of Scotch whisky so we have to bring it in duty free for our relatives. But imagine what we could do if there was a free trade deal with India – which there will be.”
A woman reportedly told Mr Johnson: "How dare you talk about alcohol in a Sikh temple?"
15. When he insulted the entire country of Papua New Guinea
Boris Johnson apologised to the entire country of Papua New Guinea in 2006 for joking about their "orgies of cannibalism."
The then shadow higher education minister wrote in the Telegraph: "For 10 years we in the Tory Party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing."
But Papua New Guinea's High Commissioner in London, Jean L Kekedo, branded the remarks "an insult" to her nation's "integrity and intelligence".
She added: "I am shocked and appalled by such comments from a seemingly well-educated person."
Mr Johnson later said: "I meant no insult to the people of Papua New Guinea who I'm sure lead lives of blameless bourgeois domesticity in common with the rest of us."
16. When he claimed money probing child abuse was 'spaffed up a wall'
In March 2019, Boris Johnson said police spending on child sexual abuse investigations was "spaffed up a wall".
He said: "Keeping numbers high on the streets is certainly important. But it depends where you spend the money and where you deploy the officers. And one comment I would make is I think an awful lot of money and an awful lot of police time now goes into these historic offences and all this malarkey.
"You know, £60 million I saw was being spaffed up a wall on some investigation into historic child abuse."
The NSPCC said the former Foreign Secretary’s language was “crass.”
17. When he enraged Italy with a threat about Prosecco
Boris Johnson angered Italy in 2016 by threatening to stop buying Prosecco in a bad Brexit deal.
"We drink more Italian wine than any other country in Europe - 300m litres of Prosecco every year,” he said. “They are not going to put that at risk.”
But Economy minister Carlo Calenda branded the Foreign Secretary's approach "insulting" and "wishful thinking".
He sad: "I said 'yeah, maybe we're going to lose some Prosecco. You're going to lose some fish and chips exports. The difference is I'm going to lose to one country - you to 27.'"
18. When he called the French ‘turds’ who ‘shafted Britain’
In June 2019 it was claimed Boris Johnson branded the French "turds" who "shafted Britain" over Brexit. He made the remark, during filming for a BBC documentary, out of frustration over France refusing a better deal.
According to the Daily Mail, the BBC removed the word "turds" from the finished documentary at the request of the Foreign Office. A leaked Whitehall memo allegedly said the remark becoming public would make Anglo-French relations “awkward.”
He refused to deny making the slur, saying with a grin: “I have no recollection of this comment.”
19. When he compared the EU to Adolf Hitler
During the 2016 EU referendum campaign Boris Johnson compared the EU to Adolf Hitler - saying they both wanted a united Europe.
“Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically,” he wrote. “The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.”
Hilary Benn, who was the shadow foreign secretary, said the comparison was "offensive and desperate". But Boris Johnson refused to apologise over what he called an “artificial media twit storm”.
20. When he proclaimed ‘f*** business’
Boris Johnson ranted “f*** business” over Brexit at a reception to mark the Queen's birthday.
The Foreign Secretary was said to have uttered the reply in 2018, at an event for EU diplomats, when he was asked about business leaders' fears over leaving the EU. He and allies repeatedly refused to deny using the phrase.
Instead a source said he was “attacking lobbyists like the EU-funded CBI who are more interested in doing what's right for big multinational corporations."
21. When he allegedly said ‘f*** the families’ of the 7/7 bombings
Another alleged outburst came when he was Mayor of London and being briefed about the cost of inquests into the 2005 London terror attacks, which killed 52. Brian Coleman, who was chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, claims Boris Johnson erupted in fury and said: “F*** the families! F*** the families!”
A second source told the Sunday Mirror he was certain Boris used the offensive words. But a third source, at the meeting, disputed Mr Coleman’s account.
22. When he branded Hillary Clinton a ‘sadistic mental health nurse’
Boris Johnson compared Hillary Clinton to a “sadistic” mental health nurse in a 2007 column. Saying he wanted her to be President, he wrote: “She's got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital.”
After becoming Foreign Secretary he was grilled on the comment in his first joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
But he said: “It would really take me too long to engage in a full global itinerary of apology.”
23. When he refused to back our Ambassador to the US
Boris Johnson faced a storm in July 2019 for refusing to stand up for Britain's Ambassador to the US. Sir Kim Darroch quit after Mr Johnson failed to promise he could keep his job over leaked memos about the "inept" White House.
Mr Johnson - who stands to gain by installing a more pro-Brexit envoy - was accused by a serving Foreign Office minister of throwing the diplomat “under the bus”.
He later confessed he was a "factor" in the diplomat's resignation, adding: "I probably should have been more emphatic that Kim personally had my full support."
24. When he took a £20,000 flight to avoid scrutiny on Heathrow Airport
As Foreign Secretary he blew more than £20,000 of taxpayers’ cash on a visit to Kabul - conveniently timed to miss a Commons vote on expanding Heathrow Airport. In 2015 Boris Johnson - whose constituency is near the hub - promised to lay down before the bulldozers to stop a third runway.
But his trip to Afghanistan meant he didn’t have to vote one way or the other - a decision which could have prompted either constituents’ fury or a sacking from the Cabinet. Mr Johnson has since weakened his opposition to Heathrow.
In June 2019 he only said he had “grave reservations” rather than vowing to block it.
25. When be branded his £250k-a-year pocket money ‘chicken feed’
He made more than £700,000 in earnings alongside his job as an MP through the year after he quit as Foreign Secretary.
They included a £275,000-a-year column in the Daily Telegraph and more than £400,000 for speeches, including £42,580 for a single speech promoting a No Deal Brexit.
In 2009 he described his column, which at the time paid £250,000, as “chicken feed”. And in July 2019 he claimed he’d set aside “self-interest” by giving up these outside earnings when he becomes Prime Minister.
He said: “It is obviously possible to make more money by not being a full time politician.”
26. When he was accused of a major conflict of interest
A string of ethics probes were launched into Boris Johnson in September 2019 after the Sunday Times revealed his friendship with the model-turned-tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri. The London Assembly - whose rules forbid favourable treatment to friends - launched an investigation after the relatively novice American went on three trade missions Mr Johnson led as mayor in 2014 and 2015.
Ms Arcuri - who later said they had an affair - admitted Mr Johnson visited her combined flat and office in Shoreditch a "handful" of times. The PM was branded “unfit for office” after insisting there was “no interest to declare”.
27. When he purged Churchill’s grandson from the Tories to shore up his base
The Prime Minister faced outrage in September 2019 when he brutally purged some of the longest-serving Tories from the party. Winston Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames and longest-serving MP Ken Clarke were among 21 who lost the whip - followed later by a 22nd, Amber Rudd.
Their crime? Backing a bid to delay Brexit beyond October 31 to prevent no-deal. Just months earlier, the Conservative Party had been tolerant of these moderates who wanted to stop a disastrous crash-out from the EU.
But Boris Johnson opted for the hardline approach to shore up the Brexit vote, despite his long history as a fairly liberal One Nation Tory. Ten of the 21 were later let back in but Clarke and Soames quit before the election.
28. When he kept trying to use public money to attack Labour in the election
As the general election got under way in October 2019, he made political comments standing in front of police cadets (one of whom fainted). He also spent a day after an election was confirmed touring hospitals and police - paid for by public funds.
He was accused of misusing taxpayer cash too when he put out a string of Facebook adverts - later banned - which promoted left-behind towns. And his bid to use Treasury civil servants to cost Labour ’s policies was blocked at the last moment by the Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.
29. When he unlawfully shut down Parliament
In September 2019, the Supreme Court ruled he acted unlawfully by shutting down Parliament over Brexit. The PM faced demands to resign after the UK's highest court ruled unanimously that he acted unlawfully.
11 justices said shutting down the Commons for five weeks before the Brexit deadline - which he claimed was a bog standard prorogation - had an "extreme" effect on democracy. Declaring the prorogation of Parliament "unlawful, void and of no effect", Supreme Court President Lady Hale declared: "Parliament has not been prorogued."
30. When his ‘clear plan’ for social care did not appear
Boris Johnson promised he had a plan for social care in a speech on the steps of Downing Street in July 2019. But more than two years on, this clear plan has not materialised.
Last September he announced a hike to National Insurance from April 2022 to fund social care and slash the NHS backlog caused by the pandemic. The majority of the £36bn will go to the NHS in England, with only £5.4bn over the three years earmarked for social care.
When a plan was finally published in December, the 10-year vision was branded "incredibly thin" on detail.
30. When tens of thousands of people died ‘who didn’t need to’
“Tens of thousands of people died, who didn't need to die".
That was the explosive claim from the PM's former aide Dominic Cummings. Mr Cummings told MPs that the PM was consistently anti-lockdown, ignored scientific advice and failed to take Covid seriously.
He also claimed the PM ranted “we should never have done lockdown 1” and any border control would ruin the travel industry.
Mr Cummings said: "It’s completely crackers that someone like me should have been in there, just as it’s crackers that Boris was in there and the choice at the last election was Jeremy Corbyn. The problem in this crisis was very much lions led by donkeys over and over again.”
31. When he claimed to have ‘got Brexit done’
Mr Johnson won the 2019 election on a manifesto promising to "get Brexit done" - which he duly claimed to have achieved on entering office. The Brexit deal passed in the Commons in December 2019 and the UK severed its ties with Brussels in January 2020.
The PM then claimed he had "got Brexit done", despite lengthy trade negotiations continuing until a deal was agreed before Christmas 2020. But the UK then spent most of 2021 trying to unpick parts of the deal and threatening the EU that it would unilaterally tear up a key party relating to Northern Ireland.
Talks are ongoing and Brexit is not exactly done.
32. When he boasted about shaking hands despite Covid threat
Back in March 2020, the PM insisted the Covid threat would not stop him sharing a handshake with people. Mr Johnson bragged that he had shaken the hands of everyone at a hospital where Covid patients were being treated.
No 10 officials stressed at the time that he had not shaken hands with any patients.
33. When he ranted about ‘bodies piling high’ and 80-year-olds getting Covid
The PM reportedly declared he would rather "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" than call another lockdown in the autumn of 2020. The alleged remarks, which emerged first in the Daily Mail, were dismissed by Downing Street.
But Dominic Cummings told MPs that he heard the PM make the comment after his decision to implement a second lockdown on 31 October 2020. Boris Johnson also allegedly claimed coronavirus patients “live longer”, according to bombshell text messages shown by the BBC.
In texts to aides, Mr Johnson said: “I must say I have been slightly rocked by some of the data on Covid fatalities. “The median age is 82 – 81 for men 85 for women. That is above life expectancy. So get COVID and live longer.”
34. When lucrative Covid contracts went to Tory allies
The Government awarded thousands of contracts to private companies as they battled to get vital equipment such as PPE and tests at the start of the pandemic. Billions of pounds worth of deals were handed to associates of ministers and officials during the early months of the pandemic.
The High Court ruled earlier this month that a so-called VIP lane to hand out PPE contracts to two firms was unlawful. In a challenge brought by the Good Law Project and campaign group EveryDoctor, a judge ruled the operation of the "high priority lane" was "was in breach of the obligation of equal treatment… the illegality is marked by this judgment."
But Mrs Justice O'Farrell found both of the companies' offers "justified priority treatment on its merits" and were "very likely" to have been awarded contracts even without the VIP lane.
35. When he refused to sack Dominic Cummings
The controversial former aide became a household name when the Mirror revealed he had travelled to Durham during the first lockdown, including the famous trip to Barnard Castle.
Mr Cummings refused to resign despite widespread public anger - and Boris Johnson stood by him. The PM's failure to sack Mr Cummings at the time cost him a significant amount of political capital.
36. When he cut help to the world’s poorest
Another U-turn on the Tories’ 2019 manifesto was the decision to slash billions in aid cash. Rishi Sunak cut foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income, prompting fury including from many Tories.
The Chancellor later extended the cut, saying aid spending will only return to normal by 2024/25.
37. When he broke his manifesto promise over National Insurance and pensions
Boris Johnson U-turned on his central manifesto vow not to increase taxes in September by hiking National Insurance to fix health and social care. The tax will rise from 12% to 13.25% from April 2022 to raise £12bn a year.
Mr Johnson claimed the rise was unavoidable after Covid and will fix the care crisis. But only £5.4bn of the £36bn raised in the first three years will go to social care.
He also scrapped the pensions triple lock for a year from April 2022 in another manifesto breach.
38. When he repeatedly battled Marcus Rashford over free school meals
The PM was forced into two U-turns by footballer Marcus Rashford over feeding hungry children during the holidays. The Tories went to war with the Manchester United forward - and lost - in a damaging battle over free school meals.
In June 2020 the PM caved to Rashford’s demand to give more than a million kids supermarket vouchers over the summer break.
The government had refused to issue £15-a-week vouchers, instead pledging a £63m pot for the worst-hit. But hours after forcing ministers to defend the position, Boris Johnson changed his mind in a Cabinet meeting.
In November, the PM made another U-turn on kids’ food over half term. Tory MPs had refused to extend the £15 vouchers over the October half term - prompting fury, and businesses and charities to step in.
But the PM then announced a £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme for Christmas. It provided extra help - though it no longer gave £15 vouchers to every eligible family, and went further than just paying for food.
39. When he spent taxpayer cash on THREE vanity photographers
Mr Johnson was accused of splurging public cash on "vanity" snappers when it emerged had had three photographers working in Downing Street. Press photographers cover the PM's activities for newspapers but the PM hired a new promotional photographer last February on a salary of up to £60,635 a year.
He already had photographer Andrew Parsons working part-time as a special adviser and another civil service photographer is thought to have been on secondment to No10 from the Ministry of Defence since early 2020.
40. When he blew £1m on a non-existent bridge to Northern Ireland
Boris Johnson's madcap plan for a bridge to Northern Ireland cost the taxpayer almost a million pounds - although it was never built.
A study commissioned by the Prime Minister found a fixed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland would be too expensive. The study alone cost almost £900,000.
41. When he tried to tear up ethics rules to save a mate
The PM ordered Tory MPs to rip up ethics rules and block a 30-day suspension of Conservative Owen Paterson for lobbying breaches. The vote passed, but more than 100 Conservatives refused to back the plans and Keir Starmer accused the government of corruption.
Mr Johnson U-turned less than 24 hours later, as Labour boycotted the body which would have drawn up new standards. Mr Paterson later resigned as a Tory MP.
The Liberal Democrats pulled off a sensational upset in the by-election in his North Shropshire seat the following month.
42. When he tried to get others to pay for a lavish revamp of his flat
Boris Johnson has been dogged by questions over the funding of the luxury makeover of his No 11 flat. The PM originally assumed a charitable trust, led by Tory donor Lord Brownlow, would fund the work.
But the idea fell apart and he had to settle the bill himself after a media storm. The Conservative Party was fined £17,800 by the Electoral Commission in December for breaching electoral law over the way the money was recorded.
The watchdog also uncovered texts from Mr Johnson to Lord Brownlow about the project, which had not been given to the PM's ethics adviser Lord Geidt when he investigated.
Mr Johnson apologised to Lord Geidt, who issued a furious rebuke to the PM but decided he had not broken the ministerial code.
43. And finally… When he ‘lied to Parliament’ over Downing Street parties
In what could be the final straw for Tory MPs and the public, Mr Johnson has been accused of misleading Parliament over a BYOB bash in the No10 garden in May 2020.
He admitted to going into the garden for 25 minutes but claimed he thought it was a work event.
Dominic Cummings said Mr Johnson's principle private secretary (PPS) Martin Reynolds agreed to speak to the PM ahead of the event when another official sent an email saying that it broke the rules.
Mr Cummings also said he personally raised the “drinks party” but the Prime Minister "waved it aside".
If true, this means the PM lied to the house in his apology last week. Ministers are normally expected to resign for misleading Parliament.
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