Ex-UK FM Johnson ordered to apologize over earnings
Former British foreign minister Boris Johnson has apologized to the parliament over earnings he failed to register on time.
The House of Common’s standards watchdog ordered Johnson on Thursday to make a formal apology for almost 53,000 pounds ($67,495) earnings he had failed to declare on time.
The committee found that the earnings totaled 52,722.80 pounds and included nine payments which should have been declared within a 28-day deadline, which Johnson failed top observe.
Standards commissioner Kathryn Stone said in his report that Johnson’s failure was neither “inadvertent” nor “minor” and he was in breach of the rules of the parliament and had failed to fulfill his responsibilities.
Johnson, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Theresa May’s strategy for leaving the European Union, receives a yearly salary of 275,000 pounds for his famous weekly column in the Daily Telegraph. He also regularly receives royalties from abroad for the books he has written on politics and history.
Johnson still has a high chance of replacing May if she fails to go through a parliamentary vote on December 11 on her Brexit agreement. Many, however, fear his rise to power would set Britain on an extreme anti-EU and anti-migration path.
The former mayor of London has been gripped by various controversies since he resigned from May’s cabinet in July. In an article in the Daily Telegraph in August, which many saw as an attempt to pander to the far-right, Johnson likened Muslim women wearing burqa to letterboxes and bank robbers. His out-of marriage relationships have also caused his long-time marriage to break.
Johnson told the parliament on Thursday that he was very sorry for the failure to declare the earnings.
“I fully accept that the delay was a breach of the House’s rules ... I therefore offer the House a full and unreserved apology,” said Johnson during a parliament session, adding that he was grateful that the Commons had reached the conclusion that he did not intend to mislead the lawmakers on the issue.
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