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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Peter Walker Political correspondent

Boris Johnson accused of abusing ministerial code so rule-breakers can avoid sack

Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson’s ‘redrafting demotes the seven principles of public life’, said Jane Martin, a former local government ombudsman. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Boris Johnson is “abusing the ministerial code” by redrafting it to reduce the potential sanctions for ministers who break rules, a former member of the government’s ethical standards watchdog has said, urging Conservative MPs to challenge this.

Jane Martin, formerly the local government ombudsman who served on the committee on standards in public life for five years until December 2021, said Johnson had wrongly used a report by her committee as a spur to weaken the code.

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