Minister Conor Burns QUITS after standards watchdog finds he abused status as an MP in father’s dispute with company
A minister quit today after a standards report found he abused his status as an MP in a dispute between his father and a company.
The Commons Standards Committee said Conor Burns should receive a seven-day suspension from the House for using his privileged status to attempt to intimidate a member of the public.
The Parliamentary watchdog found Mr Burns – a close ally of Boris Johnson – broke rules by writing to an individual connected with a company that was in dispute with his father over repayment of a loan.
In the letter, he referred to his status as an MP, stating ‘my role in the public eye could well attract interest especially if I were to use parliamentary privilege to raise the case’.
A Downing Street spokesman: ‘Conor Burns has resigned as Minister of State for International Trade following a report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
‘A replacement will be announced in due course.’
The Commons Standards Committee said Conor Burns should receive a seven-day suspension from the House for using his privileged status to attempt to intimidate a member of the public
Mr Burns tweeted today that he was resigning from government with ‘deep regret’
Mr Burns tweeted today that he was resigning from government with ‘deep regret’.
Standards commissioner Kathryn Stone concluded that Mr Burns ‘put personal interest before the public interest by suggesting that he would take advantage of his public office to pursue his father’s financial dispute’.
The report also accused Mr Burns of behaving ‘disrespectfully’ during the investigation, saying 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’.
In evidence to the committee, Mr Burns said: ‘I absolutely should not have written to the complainant in the terms I did or used House stationary to do so.’