Scandal Tracker

June 2023

Boris Johnson announces he will stand down as an MP with immediate effect after receiving the Commons Select Committee of Privileges' report into the Partygate scandal. Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire), Nigel Adams (Selby) and David Warburton (Somerton and Frome) also resign. 

Police Scotland arrest Scotland's former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, as part of their ongoing investigation into the SNP's finances. She is subsequently released without charge. 

Daniel Korski withdraws as the Conservative Party's candidate for the 2024 London mayoral election after being accused of groping by novelist and TV producer Daisy Goodwin.

May 2023

Labour and the Liberal Democrats call for an inquiry into whether the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, broke the Ministerial Code after it is reported she asked civil servants whether they could arrange a private speed awareness course, rather than the standard group one, after she was caught speeding in summer 2022 during her tenure as Attorney General.

The Cabinet Office refers former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the police following fresh allegations of rule breaches during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 2023

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is given a six-month driving ban by magistrates after he was caught speeding on the M1.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is to investigate Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over a possible failure to declare an interest over a childcare company in which his wife has shares.

Dominic Raab resigns as Deputy Prime Minister after the inquiry finds he acted in an "intimidating" and "insulting" manner with civil servants.

Diane Abbott is suspended from the Labour Party after writing a letter in The Observer in which she downplays racism against Irish people, Jews, and Travellers.

Andrew Bridgen is expelled from the Conservative Party after comparing COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust and being found to have breached lobbying rules.

Richard Sharp resigns as Chairman of the BBC over his breach of the BBC's rules regarding public appointments after failing to declare his connection to a loan secured by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson worth £800,000.

March 2023

Lockdown Files: WhatsApp messages leaked to the Daily Telegraph are reported as suggesting former Health Secretary Matt Hancock chose to ignore advice from experts in April 2020 that there should be "testing of all going into care homes".

Sir Keir Starmer unveils Sue Gray, who led the investigation into the Partygate scandal, as Labour's new Chief of Staff, sparking concern among some Conservative MPs about her impartiality.

The Commons Select Committee of Privileges finds that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have misled Parliament over the Partygate scandal after evidence suggested breaches of COVID-19 rules would have been "obvious" to him. In response Johnson says that none of the evidence shows he "knowingly" misled parliament, and that "it is clear from this report that I have not committed any contempt of parliament".

Lockdown Files: The Telegraph publishes messages that are reported to have been exchanged between Allan Nixon, a parliamentary Advisor and Matt Hancock from November 2020 in which they discuss threatening to cancel projects in MPs' constituencies if MPs do not support the local lockdown tiers legislation. It is also reported that as part of a strategy aimed at trying to stop MPs from rebelling against the legislation, party whips compiled a spreadsheet of 95 MPs who disagreed with this policy and the reasons for them disagreeing; these related to lack of parliamentary scrutiny, economic harm, harms to hospital, absence of cost benefit analysis and the policy being "unconservative".

Boris Johnson gives evidence to the cross-party Privileges Committee, relating to his conduct during Partygate. He insists that he "did not lie" to the House of Commons and always made statements in good faith.

Reports in The Sun suggest former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was in office for 49 days, has submitted a Resignation Honours list.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is banned from standing as a candidate for the party at the next general election after the party's National Executive Committee votes 22–12 in favour of a motion blocking his candidacy. Supporters of the action cite Labour's "anti-Semitism crisis".

February 2023

Former Labour MP Jared O'Mara, who submitted fake expense claims to fund his cocaine habit, is convicted of fraud. The following day, he is sentenced to four years in prison.

Nicola Sturgeon announces her resignation as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party after eight years in the role; she will stay on until her successor has been elected.

January 2023

Andrew Bridgen has the whip suspended by the Conservative Party after he spread misinformation about COVID-19 and compared vaccination to the Holocaust.

Labour's chairwoman, Anneliese Dodds writes to Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, requesting "an urgent investigation" into claims that Richard Sharp, the Chairman of the BBC, helped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson secure a loan guarantee weeks before Johnson recommended him for the BBC chairmanship. William Shawcross, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, begins a review into the process of hiring Chairman of the BBC Richard Sharp. Johnson dismisses the claims, saying Sharp had no knowledge of his finances.[45] Sharp says that although he contacted Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in December 2020 about the offer of a loan to Johnson, he was not involved in discussions.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asks his Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests to investigate allegations that, during his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi paid a penalty to HM Revenue and Customs in relation to previously unpaid tax. Zahawi is sacked by Rishi Sunak over "a serious breach of the Ministerial Code" relating to the investigation into his tax affairs, conducted on 23 January.

December 2022

Following previous allegations of bullying by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, five further complaints are investigated, taking the total number to eight.

November 2022

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is suspended from the Conservative Party after joining the cast of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! He will now sit as an independent MP.

Conservative MP Sir Gavin Williamson resigns as Minister of State without Portfolio after allegations of bullying were made against him.

October 2022

Conservative trade minister Conor Burns is dismissed from the government, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour at the Conservative Party Conference.

Kwasi Kwarteng is dismissed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He becomes the second shortest-serving Chancellor in UK political history. Jeremy Hunt succeeds him. In a Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Liz Truss confirms a reversal of her plan to scrap an increase in corporation tax and admits "it is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting."

Suella Braverman resigns as Home Secretary after sending an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP, a serious breach of ministerial rules. She is succeeded by Grant Shapps.

The government wins a vote on its fracking plans by 326 to 230, a majority of 96. The vote is characterised as 'chaotic', with Conservative MPs unsure whether the vote would be treated as a vote of confidence in the government, and MPs alleging that bullying and manhandling took place in the voting lobby. However, ministers deny these claims, with Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg saying to "characterise it as bullying was mistaken".

Liz Truss announces her pending resignation as Prime Minister after just 45 days. Her tenure will be the shortest of any Prime Minister in UK history. Her successor will be elected in a Conservative leadership contest, to be completed in the next week.

The parliamentary watchdog finds that Labour MP Christian Matheson should be suspended from the Commons for four weeks for "serious sexual misconduct". He subsequently resigns from his Chester seat.

The Mail on Sunday alleges that Russian spies gained access to Liz Truss's phone during her time as foreign secretary, and that the details were suppressed by then-prime minister Boris Johnson and cabinet secretary Simon Case.

September 2022

Sky News reports that a Cabinet minister and a senior Downing Street aide in the Johnson Government are facing allegations of sexual misconduct following claims made by two women at Westminster.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivers an emergency mini-budget in which he announces the biggest tax cuts in the UK since 1972. Pound sterling falls sharply in response to the government's planned tax cuts, losing 3% against the dollar and dropping below $1.09. The International Monetary Fund makes an unprecedented criticism of UK fiscal policy, urging the government to re-evaluate the mini-budget. In a bid to prevent the collapse of the country's pension funds, whose investments are in government bonds that have become volatile since the announcement of the mini-budget, the Bank of England announces that it will purchase £65 billion of government bonds in order to restore their stability. More than 1,000 mortgage products are withdrawn from the market, the highest figure ever recorded by Moneyfacts Group, with many borrowers unable to secure loans or having provisional offers declined.

August 2022

Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier pleads guilty to breaching COVID-19 rules after being told to self isolate in September 2020.

July 2022

Chris Pincher has the Conservative Party Whip withdrawn and will sit in the House of Commons as an independent MP. A further six allegations against Chris Pincher emerge, involving behaviour over a decade. One complainant is reported to have given 10 Downing Street details in February 2022 and expressed concerns over Pincher becoming a whip in charge of other MPs' welfare.

Boris Johnson announces his pending resignation as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader as a result of the resignations from his ministry, prompting a leadership election which will finish in September.

June 2022

Tamworth MP Chris Pincher resigns as Conservative Party deputy chief whip, saying he "embarrassed myself and other people" and "drank far too much" following an incident at a party the previous evening. The resignation triggers the downfall of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

May 2022

An unnamed Conservative MP is arrested for rape and sexual assault charges spanning seven years between 2002 and 2009.

Partygate: Photos published by ITV News show Boris Johnson holding up a glass at a leaving do on 13 November 2020, when COVID-19 regulations meant such gatherings were only allowed if reasonably necessary for work purposes. The Met Police's decision-making process during the inquiry into events at No 10 and Whitehall is questioned by lawyers, while MPs suggest the photos prove Johnson lied at the dispatch box.

A new version of the Ministerial Code is published, removing the need for a minister to resign over breaches of its rules.

Beergate: It is confirmed that Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner, have received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary as part of their investigation into the gathering both politicians attended on 30 April 2021.

April 2022

Partygate: Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson, and Rishi Sunak are among those issued with fixed penalty notices for breaches of lockdown rules at gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street. This makes Johnson the first sitting Prime Minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law. 30 more penalties are announced, in addition to the 20 given by police on 29 March. Johnson and Sunak apologise, but resist calls from opposition parties including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP to resign.

Conservative MP David Warburton is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, following his suspension from the parliamentary party amid allegations of sexual harassment and drug taking.

Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008. Khan was suspended from the Conservative Party and resigned as MP for Wakefield.

Conservative MP Neil Parish is suspended from the Conservative Whip over allegations that he watched pornography on his phone in the House of Commons. The next day Parish admits to watching pornography twice in the House of Commons and says that he will resign as an MP.

March 2022

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, detained by Iran in 2016, is freed and allowed to return to the UK. A central part of Zaghari-Ratcliffe's defence was that she was there on a holiday and never worked to train journalists in the country. However, on 1 November 2017, the then-British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said "When we look at what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism, as I understand it, at the very limit." These remarks appeared to have put her at risk, prompting condemnation from MPs.

February 2022

Munira Mirza resigns as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, saying it was in protest at Johnson's comments about Keir Starmer being responsible for the failure to prosecute serial sex offender Jimmy Savile. Three other senior aides resign hours later – Director of Communications Jack Doyle, Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield, and Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Martin Reynolds.

Paul Givan resigns as First Minister of Northern Ireland in protest over Brexit checks in the Irish Sea, which are part of the Northern Ireland protocol.

Labour Peer Nazir Ahmed is jailed for sexual offences against children.

January 2022

Downing Street Parties: The Met Police contacts the government over "widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches" of Covid rules, following an email obtained by ITV News dated 20 May 2020, in which 100 people were invited to a "bring-your-own-booze" event in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown. Boris Johnson declines to say whether he was among those there.

The Daily Telegraph reports that two parties were held at Downing Street the night before Prince Philip's funeral, at a time when Covid restrictions banned indoor mixing. Downing Street issues an apology to the Queen.

Covid VIP Lane: The High Court rules that the Conservative government's use of a "VIP lane" to award contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) to two companies was unlawful

Whips Blackmail: Conservative MP William Wragg accuses whips of blackmail against Conservative MPs who are believed to support the ousting of Johnson. The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, tells the Commons that potentially criminal offences would be a matter for the police. A Downing Street spokesperson says: "We are not aware of any evidence to support what are clearly serious allegations."

Sue Gray Report: The initial findings of a report by Sue Gray into Downing Street parties are published. She notes that, "At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time," and concludes that "a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did. There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government."

November 2021

Owen Paterson lobbying inquiry: Boris Johnson to back bid to overturn Owen Paterson lobbying inquiry. Conservative MPs to be instructed to support amendment arguing parliamentary standards commissioner’s probe was flawed.

The Owen Paterson scandal was a political scandal in the United Kingdom that erupted in October 2021, after it emerged that Owen Paterson, a Conservative MP for North Shropshire, had lobbied government ministers on behalf of two companies that paid him more than £100,000 a year.

Paterson was found to have broken the rules on paid advocacy by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone. Stone recommended that Paterson be suspended from Parliament for 30 days.

However, the government of Boris Johnson intervened to save Paterson from suspension. The government proposed a change to the rules on paid advocacy that would have allowed Paterson to escape punishment. Under pressure, the government eventually abandoned its proposal.

Claudia Webbe MP was found guilty of harassment by a jury at Southwark Crown Court. She was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison, suspended for two years. Webbe's prior resignation came after the Labour party had said that it was "deeply concerned" by the allegations against Webbe and that it would not tolerate any form of harassment.