Ethics adviser to UK leader Johnson quits

London: The ethics adviser to Britain’s scandal-hit Prime Minister Boris Johnson has quit and accused the Conservative government of planning to flout conduct rules, weeks after a separate investigation criticized the U.K. leader for overseeing a culture of government rulebreaking.

Christopher Geidt stepped down late Wednesday as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, a decision the government said came as a surprise. In a resignation letter, which was published Thursday by the government, Geidt said he was put in an “impossible and odious position” because the prime minister had asked him to advise on measures that would “risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the Ministerial Code” that regulates government conduct.

He did not elaborate but said: “I can have no part in this.” In a response, Johnson indicated the issue concerned tariffs imposed to protect a “crucial industry” which might “be seen to conflict with our obligations” under the World Trade “ Organization. —AP