Zak Goldsmith has resigned his government role accusing PM Rishi Sunak of being 'uninterested' in green issues.
But allies of the PM say the Tory peer played a key role in trying to undermine an Commons inquiry into Boris Johnson. Lord Goldsmith announced his resignation as a Foreign Office minister on Friday morning while criticising Rishi Sunak's lack of interest in the environment as his reason for stepping down.
But Sunak allies have countered that Lord Goldsmith's departure stemmed from being instructed to apologise for his alleged participation in applying "improper pressure" on the Privileges Committee's investigation into Mr. Johnson's denials of the partygate scandal before MPs.
The minister's resignation follows the Privileges Committee's identification of Lord Goldsmith as one of eight parliamentarians who had launched "attacks" on its investigation, which ultimately established that the former prime minister had lied to Parliament regarding the scandal.
In his letter to Mr. Sunak, the Tory peer expressed his difficulties in recent months, writing: "The problem is not that the Government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our Prime Minister, are simply uninterested. That signal, or lack of it, has trickled down through Whitehall and caused a kind of paralysis."
He further stated: "This Government's apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable."
The Privileges Committee's report, released on Thursday, highlighted Lord Goldsmith's retweet from June, which suggested the investigation was a witch hunt and a kangaroo court.
The committee recommended that the House of Commons consider whether the actions of MPs involved, including prominent Johnson loyalists Nadine Dorries and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, amounted to contempt of Parliament. It also called for further action to be taken.
When asked about Lord Goldsmith's resignation during a hospital visit in Cambridgeshire on Friday, Mr. Sunak refused to provide any response.
Although Downing Street affirmed Mr. Sunak's full confidence in Lord Goldsmith following the report's findings, the committee suggested that the upper chamber should be made aware of its findings and consider appropriate action.
The Liberal Democrats criticised the Prime Minister, asserting that he should have had the courage to dismiss Lord Goldsmith a day before his resignation after the "brutal" censure.
Sarah Olney, the party's Treasury spokesperson, commented: "This Conservative chaos is never-ending. Every day brings more resignations and scandals in this depressing Westminster soap opera. Rishi Sunak should have had the guts to sack Zac Goldsmith yesterday when he was brutally criticised by the partygate watchdog. Sunak is clearly too weak to control his own party."
*You may notice the below message on a small number of Manchester Evening News articles. We like to innovate and this is part of a trial to look at whether AI can help speed up the publishing process, We will always declare where this happens.
This article was crafted with the help of AI tools, which speed up the MEN's editorial research. A Manchester Evening News editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to newsdesk@men-news.co.uk*
