Boris Johnson’s extraordinary decision to intervene in Parliament’s anticorruption system and attack a standards watchdog that had previously been targeted by him for his lavish lifestyle has caused outrage.
Kathryn Stone, the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, has previously castigated the Prime Minister over a lavish £15,000 Caribbean holiday funded by Tory donors.
But he was saved by punishment. He could have been the first premier to be suspended from Commons, by MPs overturning her ruling.
She also pulled him apart for his ‘over-casual’ attitude to declaring his personal financial interests to Parliament. This included a six-figure stake at an English country house.
Ms. Stone, who was in office since 2018, last evening said that she would continue in her vital oversight function. Boris Johnson’s turn this morning suggests that she is now safe.
Cabinet ministers tried to change her mind before she did. Kwasi Kwarteng, Business Secretary, suggested that she might resign.
Sky News asked Mr Kwarteng whether the independent Parliamentary Commissar for Standards should resign.
Kathryn Stone, the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, has previously castigated the Prime Minister over a lavish £15,000 Caribbean holiday funded by Tory donors.
She also pulled him aside for his ‘over-casual’ attitude to declaring his personal financial interests to Parliament, which included a six-figure stake at an English country home.
Mr Johnson was acquitted of violating Commons rules for a ‘freebie trip’ to Mustique, a millionaire’s playground, with Carrie. Ms Stone condemned his behavior and the ‘unusual arrangements’.
When asked what he meant when he said “decide her place”, Mr Kwarteng replied that it was up to her to do so. It’s up to anyone who has made a decision and people have tried to change it, to consider their position. That’s natural, but I’m not suggesting she should resign.
Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Commons leader called on the Prime Minister to ‘immediately remove himself from these recent attempts to poison British politics.
“Having already ripped up rules policing MPs’ behavior to protect one of theirs, it is appalling to see that this corrupt government is now trying to force the standards commissioner out her job,” the Labour MP said.
In her four years as Standards Commission, Kathryn Stone was a constant irritant for senior MPs.
The former social worker also targeted John Bercow (now-disgraced ex Labour MP Keith Vaz) and Ian Paisley Junior from the DUP for violating parliament’s rules.
She replaced Kathryn Hudson in 2018, having previously served as Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland, a commissioner for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and Chief Legal Ombudsman.
Mr Johnson was dramatically cleared in the summer of breaking Commons rules over a ‘freebie’ trip to the millionaire’s playground of Mustique with Carrie – despite Ms Stone condemning his behaviour and the ‘unusual’ arrangements.
The cross-party Standards Committee found that the PM had made an “accurate” and complete declaration about the holiday in Dec 2019, stating that it was a donation from Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, even though the couple didn’t stay at his villa.
The committee, chaired by Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Labour, overruled Ms Stone. It found that Mr Johnson violated the Code of Conduct of Members during a 15-month dispute. He initially failed to give an explanation.
The report also indicated that the premier did not know how the jaunt was funded until he arrived on Mustique. He then realized that he wasn’t staying on Mr Ross’s property.
This was Johnson’s latest escape. In May, the government’s adviser for ministerial interests stated that Johnson acted unwisely’ by failing to be more ‘rigorous in finding out who had funded lavish refurbishment work in his Downing Street flat. But he did not violate the rules.
The row over Mr Johnson’s holiday from Boxing Day 2019 to January 5, 2020 started after he declared the £15,000 cost was a ‘benefit in kind’ from Mr Ross.
Ross initially denied that he paid for it. It appears that there was a complicated swap arrangement in which Mr Johnson ended up living in a different property, owned by an American family.
The Prime Minister and the watchdog have been locked in a behind closed doors battle over whether he adhered to Commons rules that require MPs to disclose details of all financial contributions and benefits.
Initial findings by the Commissioner that Mr Johnson was in breach of paragraph 14, of the Code were that he didn’t make sufficient inquiries to establish all facts about the funding arrangements he used for his free accommodation either before his holiday or in 2020.
Ms Stone stated that the PM should have known ‘definitively’ who was funding the accommodation he was offered and what arrangements were made to pay it before accepting the accommodation.
She also stated that Johnson had not shown the accountability required of public officials.
Ms Stone wrote a memorandum to the committee: “I accept that Mr Johnson originally expected that the villa would belong to Mr Ross.
‘I find it remarkable that, when Johnson realized that he was to remain elsewhere, he did not establish the facts about who owned the villa, the cost of the villa, and the value the benefit.
‘Mr Johnson said that he believed that the owners were paid for their use of the accommodation.
“At another point, he said that Ross had arranged to cover the ‘notional cost’ by making his villa available to the Mustique Company at future dates. He has not explained how the two accounts relate to one another.
She continued: “The rules require Members of the House to fulfill ‘conscientiously” the requirement of this House in relation to the registration of interests into the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
“Because he didn’t make enough inquiries to establish the full facts regarding the funding arrangements for his accommodation free of charge, either before or after his holiday, as he should, I find that Mr Johnson has failed to comply conscientiously with the House’s requirements for registration.
Ms Stone made it clear that she wants a more severe punishment than a rape on the knuckles. She pointed out that Mr Johnson had “breached the registration laws on three previous occasions”.
Some Tory MPs were concerned that Johnson would be found to have broken the rules again and the committee would recommend Johnson’s suspension from the Commons. It was the first time a prime minister has been humiliated like this.
Mr Johnson has previously been in hot water with the committee – and Ms Stone.
In 2018, before he became Prime Minister, he made a ‘full and unreserved’ apology to MPs for failing to declare more than £50,000 in income and registering nine payments after the required 28-day deadline.
Most of the payments were made for royalties on Mr Johnson’s books, the most notable of which is a biography about Winston Churchill.
One was for the first payment he received from the Daily Telegraph for his column, for while he picked up an annual alary of £275,000.
Then the following year he was forced to make a grovelling apology to the ethics watchdog after failing to declare he part-owned a country house for almost a year.
He bought a 20 per cent share worth more than £100,000 in a Somerset property in late January 2018 and should have registered it with the authorities within 28 days.
He did not alert the Commons Standards Committee until one year later about his share of the “rental property”.
Ms Stone’s investigation into 218 breaches prompted the investigation. At the time she asked him to confirm his register of interests was up to date and received assurances it was.
He then registered the property, stating that he had been notified about the purchase of a fifth share in the building on January 25, 2013.
The watchdog stated that it had received an explanation from Uxbridge MP. He claimed he had been’misled’ by the relevant section on the Register of Member’s Financial Interests. This regulates what MPs are required to disclose about their private financial affairs.