BRITISH prime minister Boris Johnson received a jolt on a day that would define the fate of his chair as his anti-corruption tsar stepped down, saying it is "pretty clear" that the former flouted the ministerial code.
Penrose also advised Johnson to step down and pave way for a successor.
In a letter to the prime minister, John Penrose accused him of violating the code on the grounds that he could not provide adequate leadership over the partygate issue, ITV reported.
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The 57-year-old Penrose, a Conservative member of parliament for Weston-Super-Mare in North Somerset was quoted as saying, “The only fair conclusion to draw from the Sue Gray report is that you have breached a fundamental principle of the Ministerial Code – a clear resigning matter.
“But your letter to your independent adviser on the Ministerial Code ignores this absolutely central, non-negotiable issue completely. And, if it had addressed it, it is hard to see how it could have reached any other conclusion than that you had broken the code.”
He also said, “As a result, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be honourable or right for me to remain as your anti-corruption champion after reaching this conclusion, nor for you to remain as Prime Minister either.
“I hope you will stand aside so we can look to the future and choose your successor.”
Penrose also said in his letter, "I’m sorry to have to resign as the PM’s Anti-Corruption Tsar but, after his reply last week about the Ministerial Code, it’s pretty clear he has broken it."
Johnson, who took over the reins from Theresa May in July 2019, faced a vote of no-confidence on Monday (6) evening after more than 54 MPs submitted no-confidence letters. It would require 180 of them to vote against the prime minister to oust him.
The PM apologised and paid a £50 fine for violating Covid-19 regulations after he attended a birthday party for him at Downing Street during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Sue Gray, the civil servant who investigated Downing Street's numerous lockdown parties, described it as a "failure of leadership" under the PM's watch.
"That’s a resigning matter for me, and it should be for the PM too. Here’s my letter to him explaining why," Penrose said.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
