Boris Johnson might not appoint a new ethics adviser, after the previous two both quit, Downing Street has said.
Asked if Lord Geidt would be replaced as ministerial interests adviser, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “We haven’t made a final decision on how best to carry out that function, whether it relates to a specific individual or not.”
The official said Johnson would “carefully consider that before setting out the next steps” and added that having a process for ensuring standards are maintained by ministers was “vitally important”.
Lord Geidt dramatically resigned from the post on Wednesday evening, accusing the Prime Minister of proposing a “deliberate” breach of the ministerial code.
He is the second ethics adviser to resign while Johnson has been in post.
Sir Alex Allan resigned in 2020 after the PM refused to accept his finding that Home Secretary Priti Patel had bullied civil servants.
In his letter of resignation, Geidt said the Prime Minister was at risk of making a “mockery” of government ethics and rules which govern the standards of conduct of ministers, including the PM.
Johnson had asked Geidt for his advice on whether a policy decision in “the national interest in protecting a crucial industry” would be in line with the code.
The key issue which provoked his resignation appears to be advice on a steel dispute related to tariffs on Chinese steel imports.
But there was increasing scepticism that was the real reason Geidt walked out.
His resignation comes just weeks after he said it was “reasonable” to believe Johnson had broken the ministerial code over partygate.
In his resignation letter Geidt said he had decided “by a very small margin” to stay in post after the revelations about lockdown breaches in No.10, but being asked for advice on a deliberate breach of the code was the final straw.
Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader, said: “Lord Geidt walked out because of the odious behaviour of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street.”
“This Prime Minister has, in his own adviser’s words, made a mockery of the Ministerial Code. He has now followed both his predecessor and the anti-corruption tsar out of the door in disgust.
“There are now no ethics left in this Downing Street regime propped up in office by a Conservative Party mired in sleaze and totally unable to tackle the cost of living crisis facing the British people.”
In the Commons SNP MP Carol Monaghan asked: "Is there any point in appointing a new ethics adviser for a Prime Minister with no ethics?"
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