Boris Johnson's government has damaged the UK, ex-PM John Major says

The conduct of Boris Johnson's government has "damaged" the UK at home and abroad, former Prime Minister Sir John Major has said.

He told MPs the government had "broken the law" and "ignored" conventions since taking office in 2019.

The blame for these lapses, Sir John said, "must lie principally - but not only - with the prime minister".

Sir John said reforms to ministerial codes of conduct were needed to protect democracy and constitutional norms.

The Conservative former prime minister was critical of Mr Johnson as he answered questions about standards of behaviour in government from MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

In a brief opening statement, he mentioned the breach of lockdown rules in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic as one example of how the government had broken the law.

He also referenced the unlawful prorogation of Parliament in 2019 when the Brexit deal was being debated, and the controversy over lobbying by former Conservative MP Owen Paterson.

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The damage inflicted was "widespread and beyond Parliament", said Sir John, who served as prime minister between 1990 and 1997.

"The point is this: democracy is not inevitable, it can be undone, step by step, action by action, falsehood by falsehood. It needs to be protected at all times," Sir John said.

"It seems to me that if our law and our accepted conventions are ignored, we're on a very slippery slope that ends with pulling our constitution to shreds."

'No excuse'

During the hearing, MPs asked Sir John to give his view of the government's approach to the post-Brexit deal that governs trade between Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the European Union.

The government wants to be given the power to unilaterally override parts of the deal Mr Johnson negotiated and agreed with the EU.

Justifying the move, the government says it is allowed to change the terms of an international agreement in order to "safeguard an essential interest".

But the EU argues that changing the deal for Northern Ireland in this way would be a breach of international law.

Sir John told MPs the government had "no excuse, in my judgement, for breaking the law" and Parliament should stop any attempts to do so.

"You cannot be a lawmaker and a law breaker. That's an absolutely flat line," Sir John said.

Sir John also criticised the government's reform of the Electoral Commission, which sets standards for how elections should be run.

He said legislation that required voters to show photo ID at polling stations benefitted the Conservatives at the expense of other parties and that was "improper".

"My concern about it is it will restrain certain people from voting," Sir John said.

He called for reform of the ministerial code, which outlines the conduct rules ministers must follow, including the "overarching duty" on them to comply with the law.

"The standards were more rigorously enforced in the past," he said, calling for Parliament to have a role in approving and adjudicating the code.

An arch critic of the outgoing prime minister, Sir John has previously used speeches to condemn Mr Johnson for eroding public trust in British democracy.

Last week, Sir John urged Conservative MPs to remove Mr Johnson as prime minister immediately following his resignation as leader of the party.

In a letter, Sir John said it would be "unwise, and may be unsustainable" for Mr Johnson to stay in office until a new Tory leader and prime minister was elected.