The 'rise and fall' of UK PM: Scandals that dragged down Boris Johnson

The scandal surrounding parties held in government buildings, including Johnson's own Downing Street office, that breached severe COVID-19 lockdown were perhaps  one of the hardest blows to Johnson's premiership.

When it was discovered that staff members had partied in Downing Street on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021, Johnson was obliged to apologize to the monarch and was fined by the police for attending a birthday party. 

A senior federal servant's scathing report on a string of unlawful lockdown parties detailed instances of staff members puking due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Johnson repeatedly denied being aware of unlawful parties. However, Parliament is currently looking into whether he intentionally mislead MPs on the many occasions. Johnson claims that while he truly thought at the time such gatherings were legal, he now recognizes that he was wrong.

This week, there were many resignations from the government as a result of claims made by a high-ranking ex-civil servant that Johnson's office misled the public about earlier allegations of sexual harassment made against MP Christopher Pincher.

Johnson nominated Pincher deputy chief whip in February, giving him oversight of the welfare of additional Conservative MPs. However,  Pincher was kicked out of the party last week after admitting that he had made others feel very uncomfortable following a "drunken night out". Later, it was discovered that Pincher had previously been accused of sexual harassment.

Initially, Johnson's office said that the prime minister was not aware of any specific prior accusations made against Pincher. However, Simon McDonald, a senior former civil servant, claimed in a letter on Monday that he had looked into the claims in 2019 and found them to be true.

Several additional scandals involving allegations of sexual misconduct against MPs, including two that resulted in resignations from lawmakers, have hurt Johnson's Conservatives. These also led to the Conservatives falling short in both of the last month's special elections held to replace them.

Imran Ahmad Khan, a conservative legislator, resigned after being found guilty of abusing a 15-year-old child sexually. 

Another Conservative politician, Neil Parish, resigned after acknowledging that, in "a moment of madness," he had twice seen porn on his phone in the Commons.

A third Conservative MP has been detained on rape, sexual assault, and other charges. Because the accused victim's identity must be protected, the legislator was granted bail in May and has not been named in the media.

Owen Paterson, a Conservative member and former minister, was found to have engaged in a "egregious case of paid advocacy" by lobbying on behalf of businesses that paid him last year, and the standards committee of parliament recommended that he be suspended for 30 days.

Initially, the Conservatives in parliament voted to stop Paterson's suspension and overhaul the process of investigating lawmakers. Following negative press, Paterson resigned, and the administration decided against implementing the amendments. In the contest to fill Paterson's seat, the Conservatives came in last.

Following a renovation of Johnson's Downing Street flat,  which was done by a celebrity designer and included gold wallpaper, the Conservatives were fined 17,800 pounds for failing to adequately record a donation that paid for it.

Johnson's renovations in 2020 cost £112,549 (USD 135,101).

Later, the prime minister came under fire from his ethics advisor for not disclosing some messages he had exchanged with the contributor. However, it was concluded nonetheless, that Johnson had not fabricated the communications on purpose.