Moment MPs vote in favour of Partygate report finding Johnson misled parliament
Rishi Sunak has claimed that Zac Goldsmith’s comments labelled “disturbing” by MPs probing Boris Johnson over Partygate were “incompatible” with his position as a government minister – despite No 10 backing the Tory peer prior to his resignation.
In a further blow to the prime minister, Lord Goldsmith issued a scathing resignation letter on Friday in which he attacked the government’s “apathy” on the environment and directly accused Mr Sunak of being “simply uninterested” in climate issues.
The extraordinary attack – which opens up a new front of criticism for Mr Sunak – came just hours after Downing Street faced down calls to sack the Foreign Office minister, after he was among 10 Tories accused by the privileges committee of “interference” in their Partygate probe.
As he sought to get back on the front foot at a briefing laying out his new plans to boost the ailing NHS workforce, Mr Sunak told reporters that Lord Goldsmith had resigned after being asked to apologise for his “incompatible” remarks in defence of Mr Johnson.
