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Published 14:46 2 Nov 2021 GMT
Updated 09:31 3 Nov 2021 GMT
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In November 2020, Boris Johnson's advisor on the ministerial code resigned after the Prime Minister refused to sack Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Veteran civil servant Sir Alex Allen found Patel's "approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by individuals", concluding the Home Secretary had broken the ministerial code.
Ministers are normally expected to resign if they break the code.
According to Johnson, Patel gave a "fulsome apology" where she said "there are no excuses" for her conduct, admitting: "I've clearly upset people."
Sir Alex announced his resignation after the prime minister released his statement on the report's conclusions.
This one had consequences.
While serving as Secretary of State for Defence under former PM Theresa May, Gavin Williamson was found to have leaked plans to allow Chinese company Huawei to help build the UK's 5G network.
Williamson was found not in breach of the Official Secrets Act or law on misconduct but lost the confidence of the Prime Minister.
Critics believed he broke the ministerial code.
He was sacked but returned to the cabinet under Boris Johnson as Education Secretary.
The government ethics watchdog was asked to assess whether the Chancellor breached the ministerial code by not declaring his wealth in the register of ministerial interests.
Sunak had failed to declare a multimillion-pound portfolio of shares held by his wife and her family.
Ministers are required to register company shares and ownerships in order not to create a conflict of interest.
HM Treasury said Sunak had made a full declaration of his wife’s interests to senior civil servants before a decision was taken on what to include in the list.
In a letter from Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi to the chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life shared with The Independent, Antoniazzi said the code of conduct states that ministers should provide a list of interests of their spouse or partner and close family "which might be thought to give rise to a conflict".
No consequences, yet.
In May, the purveyor of the ministerial code faced calls to resign after it was suggested he himself broke it.
The Prime Minister took on a lavish refurbishment of his flat above Number 11 Downing Street. The redesign made headlines after confusion arose regarding who exactly was paying for it.
It later emerged multimillionaire Lord Brownlow donated £58,000 to the Conservative Party.
A number of inquiries, including from the Electoral Commission, were launched into whether any donations were properly declared.
Eventually, Johnson's independent ethics advisor concluded the PM acted “unwisely” in the handling of his flat refurbishment but found no breach of the ministerial code.
But it does beg the question, if he's the ultimate arbitrator: would he have sacked himself?
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