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UK trade minister Conor Burns resigns over loan threats UK trade minister Conor Burns resigns over loan threats
(about 16 hours later)
Boris Johnson ally steps down after being found to have made veiled threats to a member of the publicBoris Johnson ally steps down after being found to have made veiled threats to a member of the public
A close ally of Boris Johnson has resigned as a trade minister after being found to have used his position to try to intimidate a member of the public. A close ally of Boris Johnson has resigned as a minister after being found to have used his position to try to intimidate a member of the public.
Conor Burns, the minister of state for trade policy, was found by the standards committee to have made veiled threats while attempting to intervene in his father’s dispute over a loan. The international trade minister, Conor Burns, was found by the standards committee to have made a series of veiled threats while attempting to intervene in his father’s dispute over a loan.
A Downing Street spokesman said Burns had resigned following a report from the parliamentary commissioner for standards. The committee recommended a suspension from parliament over multiple breaches of the MPs’ code before No 10 announced his resignation. A Downing Street spokesman said Burns had resigned after the committee’s report.
The commissioner received a complaint from a member of the public connected to a firm with which Burns’s father was in dispute over repayment of a loan. The commissioner for standards received a complaint from a member of the public connected to a firm with which Burns’s father was in dispute over the repayment of a loan. The complaint centred on a letter sent by Burns, which claimed his father had made extensive attempts over a period of years to reach a settlement on repayment of that loan.
The complaint centred on a letter sent by Burns, which claimed his father had made extensive attempts over a period of years to reach a settlement on repayment of that loan. In the letter, written in February 2019 on House of Commons notepaper, Burns stated he was writing on his father’s behalf enclosing an earlier letter sent by his father to the company to which, he stated, no response had been received.
In the letter, written on House of Commons notepaper, Burns stated he was writing on his father’s behalf enclosing an earlier letter sent by his father to the company to which, he stated, no response had been received. “I am acutely aware that my role in the public eye could well attract interest especially if I were to use parliamentary privilege to raise the case (on which I have taken advice from the house authorities),” Burns wrote.
“I am acutely aware that my role in the public eye could well attract interest especially if I were to use parliamentary privilege to raise the case (on which I have taken advice from the house authorities),” he said. The MP suggested the complainant, a former senior civil servant whose name was redacted from House of Commons documents, could avoid having him raise the case in the Commons by securing the payment of the loan to his father.
Burns was told by Kathryn Stone, the commissioner for standards, that his actions “gives fuel to the belief that members are able and willing to use the privileges accorded them by their membership of the house to benefit their own personal interests”. Burns noted the complainant’s “high-profile role” outside the company “could well add to that attention”. By raising the case during parliamentary proceedings, Burns’s words would have been protected from a legal challenge by parliamentary privilege.
A report released by the standards committee on Monday also found that he had misused parliamentary-headed notepaper and suspended him from the house for seven days. When confronted by Kathryn Stone, the commissioner for standards, Burns said he had not sought formal advice. Stone said his behaviour “gives fuel to the belief that members are able and willing to use the privileges accorded them by their membership of the house to benefit their own personal interests”.
Such a suspension is highly unusual and reflects the seriousness of the case, a parliamentary source said. “The content of the letter suggests the use of the principal emblem of the house was more deliberate than accidental. And, as I explained in my letter to Mr Burns of 11 June 2019, his reference to having sought advice about privilege from the house authorities was misleading,” Stone wrote.
The report also accused Burns of behaving “disrespectfully” during the investigation. The report released by the standards committee found that he had also misused parliamentary-headed notepaper. It accused Burns of behaving “disrespectfully” during the investigation and of claiming he had not received a memo from Stone over several months.
In evidence to the committee, Burns said: ‘I absolutely should not have written to the complainant in the terms I did or used house stationery to do so.’ The cross-party committee recommended he should apologise in writing to the Commons and to the individual concerned – a recommendation that will need to be signed off by the Commons.
The cross-party committee recommended that Burns should be suspended from the house for seven days, and apologise in writing to the Commons and to the individual concerned – a recommendation that will need to be signed off by the Commons. “The right of members of parliament to speak in the chamber without fear or favour is essential to parliament’s ability to scrutinise the executive and to tackle social abuses, particularly if the latter are committed by the rich and powerful who might use the threat of defamation proceedings to deter legitimate criticism.
The report said: “The right of members of parliament to speak in the chamber without fear or favour is essential to parliament’s ability to scrutinise the executive and to tackle social abuses, particularly if the latter are committed by the rich and powerful who might use the threat of defamation proceedings to deter legitimate criticism. “Precisely because parliamentary privilege is so important, it is essential to maintaining public respect for parliament that the protection afforded by privilege should not be abused by a member in the pursuit of their purely private and personal interests,” the report said.
“Precisely because parliamentary privilege is so important, it is essential to maintaining public respect for parliament that the protection afforded by privilege should not be abused by a member in the pursuit of their purely private and personal interests.” Burns, 47, was made a trade minister in July when Johnson became Conservative leader and was a key member of his campaign team. He was elected to represent Bournemouth West in 2010 and defended his seat in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Burns, 47, was made a trade minister in July when Johnson became Conservative leader and was a key member of his campaign team. He served as parliamentary private secretary to Johnson when he was foreign secretary but resigned from the post in July 2018.
He was elected to represent Bournemouth West in 2010 and defended his seat in 2015 and 2017. Burns expressed his regret in a tweet on Monday. “With deep regret I have decided to resign as Minister of State for International Trade. @BorisJohnson will continue to have my wholehearted support from the backbenches,” he said.
He served as parliamentary private secretary to Johnson when he was foreign minister but resigned from this post in July 2018. In a separate development, another minister at the Department for International Trade, Greg Hands, was ordered on Monday to apologise for misusing parliamentary stationery to send a letter to thousands of constituents.
Burns expressed his regret in a short tweet on Monday. “With deep regret I have decided to resign as Minister of State for International Trade. @BorisJohnson will continue to have my wholehearted support from the backbenches,” he said. In October 2019, the Chelsea and Fulham MP had told the commissioner he was willing to publicly acknowledge he had breached the rules, apologise and reimburse the £4,865 costs. But with the election looming, Hands changed his mind.
The committee said: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Mr Hands may well have been motivated by a desire to avoid the embarrassment of having to make a public apology for breaking parliamentary rules during a general election campaign.”