British Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked Trade Minister Conor Burns on Friday “with immediate effect” after an accusation of “serious misconduct.”
“The Prime Minister took direct action upon being informed of this allegation and it is clear that all ministers must maintain high standards of behaviour, as the public expects,” Liz Truss’s office explained.
Burns was also suspended from the Conservative Party parliamentary caucus “pending investigation into allegations of misconduct earlier this week”.
Burns retains the parliamentary seat, but as an independent MP. The Daily Telegraph reported that the alleged incident took place in a hotel bar in Birmingham, the city where the Conservatives’ annual conference was held.
The Bournemouth West constituency MP said he would “co-operate fully with the investigation” and intended to “clear his name”.
According to Labor MP Chris Bryant, chairman of the parliamentary conduct committee, since the 2019 legislative elections, 16 MPs have been suspended or resigned for various kinds of transgressions.
“This is completely unprecedented. It had never happened before in a legislature. And we still have two years to go,” she lamented.
Burns is a longtime ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign in July after a series of scandals, notably the government appointment of a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct.
Source: TSF
