Boris Johnson ally Conor Burns replaced after quitting over intimidation in financial dispute

Conor Burns, one of Boris Johnson’s closest allies
@conorburnsuk
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Downing Street has replaced a trade minister who resigned when an investigation found he threatened a company chairman over a financial dispute with his father.

Ranil Jayawardena was promoted to the Department of International Trade on Tuesday after Conor Burns, one of Boris Johnson’s closest allies, was found to have attempted to intimidate the member of the public.

Mr Burns, who represents Bournemouth West, quit on Monday after the parliamentary watchdog recommended a seven-day suspension for breaching the MPs' code of conduct.

Mr Jayawardena, the MP for North East Hampshire, was promoted in Mr Burns' absence in the department, although to the more junior role of parliamentary under secretary of state.

Conservative MP Ranil Jayawardena, pictured, has replaced Conor Burns
AFP via Getty Images

Nadine Dorries, the first MP to be diagnosed with coronavirus, also received a promotion at the Department of Health and Social Care to minister of state.

Nadine Dorries was the first MP to be diagnosed with coronavirus
Contour by Getty Images

Mr Burns quit after being found to have breached the MPs’ code of conduct by trying to “intimidate” a company chairman involved in a loan row with his father.

He resigned after Parliament’s sleaze watchdog recommended he should be suspended from the Commons for seven days and make a formal apology.

He stood down as international trade minister following a probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards into a complaint that he had used Commons stationary to deal with a purely personal family interest.

Kathryn Stone also investigated whether Mr Burns attempted to secure a payment to his father by suggesting that he might use parliamentary privilege to raise the case in the Commons, implying that the complainant could avoid this “potentially unpleasant experience” by helping to sort the dispute.

In a damning verdict, the Commons Standards Committee concluded: “We, like the Commissioner, conclude that Mr Burns was guilty of abusing his privileged status in an attempt to intimidate a member of the public.”

It stressed the matter was a row relating to purely private family interests which had “no connection” with Mr Burns’ parliamentary duties.

“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,” the committee added.

“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.”

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