The job of ethical adviser to the Prime Minister is once again vacant. Christopher Geidt has followed his predecessor Alex Allan in concluding that it is impossible to simultaneously take an ethical position and work for Boris Johnson. File this one alongside Minister for Brexit Opportunities as a job title that cancels itself out.
The delay to the publication of Geidt’s resignation letter displayed the concern in Downing Street about its contents. It was, indeed, explosive and written with great deliberation. After expressing his regret that the Prime Minister had not commented in public about being fined by the police, Geidt said he had been placed in an “impossible and odious” position when he was asked to sanction a “deliberate and purposeful” breach of the ministerial code. This is a reference to a rather puzzling request from the Prime Minister for Geidt’s approval to break the rules of the World Trade Organisation and extend tariffs on steel imports.
Content from our partners
