After Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were issued with fixed-penalty notices for attending a lockdown-breaching party there has been much talk about the ministerial code and how it could affect their futures. But what is it? And what powers of enforcement are there?
What is the ministerial code?
It is the rules and guidelines for how ministers should behave while in office. The most recent version, updated in 2019, is 31 pages long. The rules are based around the so-called seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. The code was given its current name under Tony Blair in 1997, having been previously known as questions of procedure for ministers. It existed in that form from the second world war but was only published under John Major in 1992.
How is it relevant?
While it does stress the “overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law”, the most pertinent section comes on the first page of the code:
It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the prime minister.
Opposition parties argue that because both Johnson and Sunak denied in the Commons that they had attended illicit events, they have broken this section and must resign.
So will they resign?
No. At least not yet. The argument from both men, and their supporters, is that to mislead involves intent, and both say they honestly believed at the time that the event they have been fined for, a supposedly impromptu gathering for Johnson’s birthday on 19 June 2020 in the cabinet room, had been within the rules. This appears to have convinced enough Conservative MPs for them to be safe. What could make things tricky is if Johnson is fined for another party he attended that is also being investigated by police.
Can anyone else look into whether they breached the code?
Not as such. Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, has been tasked with writing a report into what happened with the parties – its publication now delayed for the police investigation – but this was commissioned by Johnson. The ministerial code is officially overseen by Christopher Geidt, the adviser on ministerial interests. He can only investigate alleged breaches of the code if requested by Johnson, although the plan is for this to change.
Does a breach of the code automatically mean resignation?
In theory, yes; in practice, no. The code is very clear, especially on misleading parliament. And some departures have taken place. In 2017, Damian Green was sacked by Theresa May as first secretary of state after admitting he had lied about the presence of pornographic images on his Commons computer following an investigation by the then cabinet secretary, Jeremy Heywood. But three years later, Johnson refused to dismiss Priti Patel, the home secretary, after an inquiry found she had breached the code through bullying behaviour. This prompted Lord Geidt’s predecessor as adviser on ministerial interests Sir Alex Allan to quit.
Is the situation the same across the UK?
No. This code is only applicable for Westminster ministers, with the devolved UK governments having their own versions. The Scottish and Welsh codes are based on the Westminster one, and are also enforced by convention only. The Northern Ireland code has a statutory basis, set out in the legislation that set up the power-sharing government system.
