UK's departing ethics chief did not want to advise 'on any potential law-breaking'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former ethics adviser said on Friday he had decided to resign his post because he “could not be a party to advising on any potential law-breaking”.

Lord Christopher Geidt, the second ethics adviser to resign under Mr Johnson’s leadership in two years, spoke out Friday after attempts to tie his resignation steel tariffs.

He said he wanted to clear up the “confusion” about the precise reason behind his decision.

“Emphasis on the steel tariffs question is a distraction,” Lord Geidt said in a letter.

“It was simply one example of what might yet constitute deliberate breaches by the United Kingdom of its obligations under international law, given the government's widely publicised openness to this.

“I could not be a party to advising on any potential lawbreaking.”

In his resignation letter published on Thursday, Lord Geidt said he had been placed in an “impossible and odious position” after he was asked to advise on measures which risked “a deliberate and purposeful breach of the Ministerial Code” — now thought to refer to a dispute over tariffs on imported steel.

When the news of his resignation broke on Wednesday, his explanation caused confusion at Westminster.

It had been assumed he could no longer defend the prime minister over breaches of lockdown regulations in Downing Street and Whitehall.

Before his resignation, Lord Geidt had told the public administration and constitutional affairs committee that he had felt “frustration” over the “partygate” scandal, in which the prime minister was accused of attending parties and other events while Britain was under strict lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Lord Geidt's is the latest resignation from Mr Johnson's government, which is under pressure on a number of fronts.

In addition to “partygate”, criticism has also arisen over a new law enacted by Mr Johnson's government that allows for the deportation of failed asylum seekers to Rwanda and the European Union has said London’s new plan to deal with post-Brexit trade is illegal.