Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used 220,000 pounds (246,000 euros) of public funds for his own Partygate defense. As revealed by The Guardian, the National Audit Office (NAO) is examining the details of that decision, although it has not yet decided to open a formal investigation.
"Given the circumstances, and with the pressure that exists on public finances, taxpayers should not be paying these legal costs," warned former Liberal-Democrat MP Tom Brake, now head of the Unlock Democracy association, which has required the NAO to investigate the "sensible and legitimate use of public money.
"Luckily for Johnson, and thanks to his extra-parliamentary activities, he can afford to pay the legal costs out of his own pocket," Brake added. Since his departure from Downing Street, last September, Johnson has declared income equivalent to 2.5 million euros (most of it from conferences and the advancement of a memoir book). While he was premier, his annual salary was 180,000 euros, insufficient to cover legal expenses due to the Partygate scandal.
Johnson was fined 100 pounds, ultimately reduced to 50 (56 euros) for paying it within 14 days, for once breaking Covid rules at Downing Street parties. Scotland Yard closed the investigation with a total of 126 minor fines for 83 people.
The prime minister hired legal services from the firm Peters and Peters not only to defend himself against the police investigation, but also to deal with the investigation, still ongoing, into whether or not he lied to Parliament. Johnson is due to appear before a parliamentary committee in the coming weeks and his speech may be televised. The possibility that his defense could continue to be paid for with public money, despite no longer serving as premier, has set off alarm bells once again.
"Rishi Sunak's government cannot sign a blank check from the Prime Minister's legal funds," warned Labor number two, Angela Rayner. "We need clarity on the nature of this dark contract and explanations of how it was agreed to and why it has been allowed to proceed unchecked."
In an interview this week with his loyal former minister Nadine Dorries on TalkTV, Johnson once again assured that he thought parties held in Downing Street during lockdowns complied with the rules. "Anyone who thinks that I knew that illicit meetings were taking place must be wrong in the head," the former Conservative leader reiterated.
Johnson has once again called for attention this week asking the Rishi Sunak government to agree to President Zelenski's requests to send Typhoon and F-35 planes to Ukraine. "All I am saying is that whenever it has been said that it was a mistake to do this or that, we have ended up doing it and for the benefit of Ukraine," concluded Johnson, who two weeks ago distanced himself with an international appeal for the sending of the tanks.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
