Downing Street is under pressure to publish Lord Geidt’s resignation letter after he quit his role as Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser last night.

       Lord Geidt is believed to have sent a formal letter to the Prime Minister setting out his reasons for stepping down.

       Chris Bryant, the Labour chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Standards, said the letter must now be published, telling the BBC: "I know categorically that he has written to the Prime Minister to explain why he has resigned and that letter should be published.

       “Downing Street does this all the time, it sort of says 'oh no, there isn't any more to be seen' and then subsequently two days later we discover there was an incriminating letter. So I hope the Cabinet Office will publish that letter today."

       Lord Geidt resigned a day after saying the Prime Minister may have breached the ministerial code for being fined over partygate.

       He announced the news via a short statement on the Government’s website, which gave no reason for his decision and said: "With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers’ interests."

       ？？Follow the latest updates below.

       Steve Baker, a former Brexit minister, told Boris Johnson in April that the "gig is up" and he should quit No 10.

       Following the resignation of Lord Geidt, Mr Baker reportedly told Politico that Cabinet ministers should now move against the PM.

       "It’s time for the great statesmen and women in the Cabinet to rise to the moment and get a grip of this situation before it degenerates any further," he said.

       Former Cabinet secretary Lord Turnbull, a crossbench peer, said Boris Johnson is “not worthy” of his office and suggested Tories should work to oust him.

       The peer, who was the most senior civil servant between 2002-2005, told BBC Newsnight: “It’s going to be solved when enough of his backbenchers can summon up the courage to decide that he’s not a man of sufficient integrity that they want to have him as their leader.”

       The Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests is appointed by the Prime Minister. Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he believes Parliament should be able to vet the next appointment.

       He said: "Parliament must be able to vet this next appointment so that Johnson can’t simply appoint one of his cronies.

       “The Prime Minister mustn’t be allowed to duck accountability for his constant flouting of rules and standards.”

       Labour has had an application for an urgent question in the House of Commons on the resignation of Lord Geidt granted.

       The UQ should get underway just after 10.30am.

       Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, said this morning that Boris Johnson does intend to replace Lord Geidt in the role of ethics adviser (see the post below at 08.25).

       Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow international trade secretary, suggested the PM may struggle to fill the role.

       He told Sky News: “Who on earth do you think would want to take that job after the situation that we have had?”

       Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow international trade secretary, said Lord Geidt's reasons for resigning should be made public.

       He told Sky News: “We do need to see it publicly. We absolutely do. Lord Geidt has previously commented in public that it is a legitimate question as to whether the Prime Minister broke the ministerial code.

       “What we can’t have here is No 10 somehow not making public the reason why the person who has actually been policing the upholding of standards in government can’t actually in public show why they have left their job.

       “We need to see that and we need to see a situation where No 10 is open about this.”

       Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour's shadow international trade secretary, said the resignation of Lord Geidt was not a surprise.

       He told Sky News: "I don’t think it is surprising given the conduct, the appalling conduct, of this Prime Minister over a sustained period of time that we see again an independent ethics adviser leaving.”

       He added: "It is the Prime Minister who should be offering his resignation, frankly.”

       Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, has defended the Government's Rwanda immigration scheme, describing it as as “sensible, proportionate plan”.

       Asked whether he would be prepared to stake his professional reputation on saying that at least one migrant will be taken to Rwanda by the end of the year, Mr Raab told LBC: “Well, I don’t quite know what the courts are going to decide on the main hearing.

       “What I can tell you is that I’m very confident that we set out a sensible, proportionate plan, which, far from eroding human rights, will protect human rights because it will help stem this trade in migrants, this trade in human misery.”

       A former adviser on the ministerial code has said Lord Geidt’s letter explaining why he resigned as Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser should be published.

       Sir Philip Mawer, a former parliamentary commissioner for standards, said he is “hugely disappointed but not surprised” by the resignation as Lord Geidt’s frustration in the role had been “apparent for a while”.

       He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Lord Geidt’s frustration was “particularly apparent” in his recently published annual report in which “he refers to his frustration at what he describes as the low level of ambition in the changes in the role in the degree of independence, or the lack of it, which the Government has put forward”.

       Sir Philip added: “All I can say is that, if the letter and the Prime Minister’s reply are not published, then I think people will draw their own conclusions and it won’t be favourable to the Prime Minister.”

       Dominic Raab has said he believes the Government always operates ethically and ministers are “doing our best for the country”, despite the resignation of ethics adviser Lord Geidt.

       When asked whether he believed the current Government always operates ethically, he told Sky News: “Yes, I do.

       “I think we’re doing our best for the country. I think you’ve seen that through the pandemic with the vaccine rollout, I think you’ve seen it with getting the economy back up and running.

       “I think you’ve seen the moral leadership the Prime Minister has shown on Ukraine. Do we make mistakes? Look, it happens, we’re human, we’re fallible.

       “But actually in relation to partygate, the Prime Minister held up his hands, he’s apologised, he’s overhauled No 10.”

       Chris Bryant, the Labour chairman of the Committee on Standards, said Lord Geidt's resignation letter to Boris Johnson must be published.

       He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "I know categorically that he has written to the Prime Minister to explain why he has resigned and that letter should be published.

       "Downing Street does this all the time, it sort of says 'oh no, there isn't any more to be seen' and then subsequently two days later we discover there was an incriminating letter.

       "So I hope the Cabinet Office will publish that letter today."

       Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, said the European Court of Human Rights "respect the limits of its mandate".

       He told Times Radio: “First of all, I think the abuse of human rights here is the trade in misery of those crossing the Channel, both the criminal gangs profiting but also frankly the dangerous journey that we see across the Channel. That is the human rights abuse that we are aiming to stop.

       “Secondly, in terms of the rule of law, I think when the High Court, the Court of Appeal have considered the matter, the Supreme Court have said there is no grounds for an appeal, it is not right and there is no basis in the European Convention for Strasbourg to intervene.

       “And so what I would say is I think we should be, certainly as long as we are a state party, and I have always said I think we should stay as state party, but I think it requires us to respect the obligations but also the Strasbourg court to respect the limits of its mandate and it is a two way street.”

       Dominic Raab has confirmed the Government may ignore future injunctions imposed by the European Court of Human Rights.

       He also accused the court of over-reaching by intervening to halt the Government's first migrant flight to Rwanda.

       Asked if the Government is planning to ignore some ECHR rulings in the wake of the Rwanda decision, Mr Raab told Times Radio: “That is a rather crude characterisation of the position but certainly in relation to the latest intervention from Strasbourg, so-called rule 39 interim orders which are not grounded in the European convention, they are based on the rules of procedure, internal rules of the court, I certainly believe, and our Bill of Rights would provide, that they should not have legally binding effect under UK law.

       “Particularly in a situation as we have seen recently where the High Court, the Court of Appeal have considered at length the issues, in particular the question of whether to allow injunctive relief and have roundly in that particular case rejected them.

       “I don’t think that either in this case or in general it is right for the Strasbourg court to assume a power of injunction and then apply it. It is not grounded in the convention, I don’t think it is right as a matter of policy.”

       Lord Geidt is the second independent adviser on ministers’ interests to quit the role in the last three years. Sir Alex Allan resigned in November 2020, after Boris Johnson rejected his findings that Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, had bullied civil servants.

       Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, has confirmed that Mr Johnson does intend to try to appoint a replacement for Lord Geidt.

       He told Times Radio: “Yes, he will appoint one. I think that No 10 have made that clear.”

       Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, suggested Lord Geidt's "pretty rough grilling" by MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday may have played a role in his resignation.

       Asked why Lord Geidt had quit, Mr Raab told Sky News: “Well, the stated reasons, of course he set out overnight, but were very limited. He just said he thought it was the right time to step down. Let me tell you what I know.

       “First of all he had been engaged with the Prime Minister in No 10 this week and discussing staying on for six months so I think my understanding had been he was committed to the role.

       “I think he had a pretty rough grilling by MPs this week. I think sometimes we in the media as politicians maybe underestimate how civil servants feel with that kind of scrutiny.

       “And thirdly, there was a particular issue, a commercially sensitive matter in the national interest, which he was asked to look at. I don’t know which aspect of this, I suspect there will be, in fact I know there will be, an update from No 10 later.”

       Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog.

       Westminster was rocked last night by the surprise resignation of Lord Geidt, Boris Johnson's ethics adviser.

       The reasons for the resignation remain unclear but No 10 is expected to provide an update later today.

       Meanwhile, the legal row over the Government's Rwanda policy continues to rumble on.

       Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, is on the morning media round for the Government and he has been grilled on both subjects. I will guide you through the key developments.

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