Zac Goldsmith: Tory minister named in Boris Johnson partygate interference report quits over after refusing to apologise

A Tory minister named in a Privileges Committee report for interfering in Boris Johnson’s partygate probe has resigned from government after refusing to apologise for his actions, according to the prime minister.

Lord Goldsmith, a former MP, quit his environmental role, claiming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “simply uninterested” in the issue.

‘Hugely important day for NHS’, minister says – politics latest

But the day before, the Tory peer – a close ally of Mr Johnson, who appointed him to the Lords – was chastised by the Privileges Committee for tweeting about its finding that the former prime minister had lied to parliament about lockdown breaking parties in Downing Street.

In a letter released by Downing Street, it was revealed that Mr Sunak asked him to apologise to the committee, but he refused.

Mr Sunak wrote to the peer: “You were asked to apologise for your comments about the Privileges Committee as we felt they were incompatible with your position as a minister of the crown. You have decided to take a different course.”

The prime minister later said that he was “proud of the record of this government and indeed of Zac in government making sure that we tackle climate change and protect our natural environment”.

In a post on social media, Lord Goldsmith characterised their inquiry as a “kangaroo court” and “witch hunt” – but Mr Sunak’s spokesman insisted the PM still had confidence in the minister.

Just 24 hours after the comments were highlighted, Lord Goldsmith resigned his post with a stinging resignation letter, taking aim at the current incumbent at Number 10.

The Tory peer said it had been an “exhilarating experience” in the job, praising the progress the UK had made in leading on climate change internationally – particularly when Mr Johnson was in office.

But Lord Goldsmith said he had been “horrified” by the government’s “abandonment” of policies around animal welfare, and that its efforts on environmental issues at home had “simply ground to a standstill”.

“More worrying, the UK has visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature,” he wrote in his resignation letter.

“Too often we are simply absent from key international fora. Only last week you [Mr Sunak] seemingly chose to attend the party of a media baron rather than attend a critically important environment summit in Paris that ordinarily the UK would have co-led.”

Read more:
Who was named as criticising the Boris Johnson partygate report?
The ghost of Boris Johnson is still haunting Rishi Sunak | Beth Rigby

Lord Goldsmith said the government had “effectively abandoned” its “solemn” commitment to spend £11.6bn of its aid budget on climate and environment causes – calling it “the single most important signal” to countries suffering and in persuading other G7 countries to act – and had “not come clean on the broken promise” as the final year of spending will be after the next general election.

‘Government apathy on climate’

“Prime minister, having been able to get so much done previously, I have struggled even to hold the line in recent months,” he wrote.

“The problem is not that the government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our prime minister, are simply uninterested. That signal, or lack of it, has trickled down through Whitehall and caused a kind of paralysis.

“I will never understand how, with all the knowledge we now have about our fundamental reliance on the natural world and the speed with which we are destroying it, anyone can be uninterested.

“But even if this existential challenge leaves you personally unmoved, there is a world of people who do care very much. And you will need their votes.”

The peer said it had been “a privilege” to hold his post, “but this government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable”, so he was resigning “with great reluctance… in order to focus my energy where it can be more useful”.

‘UK continues to play an important role’

In its response, the prime minister said: “We can be proud of the UK’s record as a world-leader on net zero. We are going far beyond other countries and delivering tangible progress whilst bringing down energy bills. This government is also committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it, as set out in our environmental improvement plan.

“The UK continues to play an important role globally in tackling climate change and preserving the environment. I attended COP27 in Egypt in November last year and reconfirmed our £11.6 billion climate finance pledge.”

He added: “Even in the last few weeks we have taken this international leadership into the recent G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima and the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris last week, where the minister of state for development represented the UK.”

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries – who was also named in Thursday’s report for her “vociferous attacks” on the Privileges Committee – responded to the resignation on Twitter, saying Lord Goldsmith’s “record of achievement”, “depth of knowledge” and “passion” were “second to none”.

She added: “We’ve just lost the most able minister for the environment any government would be lucky and proud to have. This loss is beyond party politics. It’s huge.”

The Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak “should have had the guts” to sack Lord Goldsmith after the report condemned his actions, saying the PM was “clearly too weak to control his own party”.

One of its MPs, Sarah Olney – who unseated Lord Goldsmith at the last election – added: “This Conservative chaos is never ending. Every day brings more resignations and scandal in this depressing Westminster soap opera.

“Zac Goldsmith’s resignation has at least confirmed what we have known all along – that Rishi Sunak’s government doesn’t give a damn about the environment and animal rights.

“They have scrapped plans to stop puppy smuggling, watered down climate change action and let water companies pump sewage in our rivers. What a sorry state of affairs this is.”