MANCHESTER, England – The downfall of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was just one of many big stories in the UK last year, as Johnson’s time as prime minister was marred by scandal after scandal.
In fact, Johnson got rid of many of them during his time in office, it seemed his political position would remain intact, leading to his being nicknamed ‘Teflon Johnson’.
However, the “Partygate” scandal over parties, events and other gatherings held in government buildings, in breach of the UK’s strict COVID-19 lockdown rules, would slowly undermine his authority.
Johnson was charged with knowingly breaking the rules, feigning ignorance and lying about his knowledge of the illegal gatherings.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London.
(Associated Press)
The scandal remained in the spotlight for months as more details leaked and became public, with Johnson maintaining his innocence, despite a flurry of newspaper headlines.
It proved particularly damaging because many families forced to play by the rules were denied to see their loved ones who died from the virus, prompting accusations of double standards.
Police investigated and it turned out that Johnson had attended at least three parties, including one the day before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
In April 2022, he was fined for violating lockdown rules, along with his wife Carrie and then-Finance Minister and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Johnson became the first sitting prime minister to break the law and face police sanctions; his reputation never recovered.
Furthermore, when he was accused of misleading Parliament with claims that his senior Conservative Party colleague Chris Pincher had groped two men in a private club, many government ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) resigned.
UK PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON APOLOGIZES AS PRESSURE GROWS FOR HIM TO RESIGN OVER ‘PARTYGATE’
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson disinfects a chair in the public waiting room of a vaccination center in Cwmbran, South Wales, on February 17, 2021.
(Geoff Caddick/Pool via AP)
Johnson later apologized for his handling of the matter, but did little to defuse the crisis and he was forced to resign in July.
Below are some of the other stories that made big headlines in the UK in 2022.
PRINCE ANDREW
A long-running civil case involving the late Queen Elizabeth II’s son, the Duke of York, came to an end in March.
Prince Andrew was sued by Virginia Giuffre for sexual abuse after claiming he had sex with her when he was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew claimed he never met Giuffre but paid her an out-of-court settlement, reportedly up to $14.5 million.
The scandal rocked the British royal family and severely damaged the duke’s public reputation.
Andrew retired from royal duties at the end of 2019, saying the case had become a “big disruption”. In January, the queen took steps to distance the royal family from him at the prospect of a damaging trial.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, left, is also seen in a 2001 photo that was included in court files showing him with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the Prince. Andrew has denied the charges. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, right, speaks at a news conference following a hearing in which Epstein’s alleged victims made statements in Manhattan Federal Court on August 27, 2019 in New York.
(Photo by Julian Finney – British Athletics/British Athletics via Getty Images | US Second Court of Appeals | Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
‘BULLY’ PRINCE ANDREW HAD A ‘REVOLVING DOOR’ OF WOMEN ENTERING ‘HIS BEDROOM’, FORMER ROYAL OFFICER CLAIMS
She stripped the duke of his honorary military duties and he was forced to stop using his title of “Her Royal Highness”.
Reports say Andrew wants to return to public life, but his brother, King Charles III, who succeeded his mother to the British throne after her death in August, opposes the move.
BORIS BECKER
Tennis star Boris Becker was jailed in April for hiding $3 million of his assets to avoid paying his debts.
The three-time Wimbledon champion, 55, filed for bankruptcy in June 2017, owing creditors nearly $61 million on an unpaid loan of more than $3.6 million on his property on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
He was legally required to disclose all of his assets so that the trustees could distribute the available funds to creditors, but was heard at trial to have acted “deliberately and dishonestly”.
Becker was released from prison in early December after serving eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence and was deported from the UK, albeit by private plane, after living there since 2012.
Boris Becker during his match with Andre Agassi at Wimbledon in 1995.
(David Ashdown/Getty Images)
BORIS BECKER CLAIMS INMATE TRIED TO KILL HIM WHILE HE WAS IN PRISON: ‘I WAS SHAKER SO MUCH’
He filmed a two-part documentary on Apple TV in which he talks about the emotional turmoil he felt before being jailed. In it, he admits that he “hit rock bottom” while awaiting sentencing.
FROM PARLIAMENT TO REALITY SHOW
Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock was already a controversial figure for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Charged with leading the government’s response to the biggest peacetime emergency the UK has faced, Hancock was heavily criticized for decisions he made amid allegations that more lives could have been saved.
However, it was his affair with his government-funded assistant, Gina Coladangelo, that forced his resignation in June 2021 after CCTV cameras caught the pair kissing in his office.
Hancock admitted to violating the government’s own social distancing rules and was forced to apologize for “letting people down”.
He was able to stay on as an MP, but there was more controversy when he appeared on the popular reality show “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here”, in which contestants compete in various challenges in an Australian jungle.
Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks at a coronavirus news conference at 10 Downing Street in London on January 11, 2021.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, pool)
UK HEALTH SECRETARY MATT HANCOCK RESIGNS AFTER PICTURES SHOW HIM KISSING ASSISTANT
It was claimed that he collected up to $485,000 for his appearance and still received his MP’s salary on top of that, despite being thousands of miles away from the people he was supposed to represent.
Unsurprisingly, he was criticized by many, including colleagues in the Conservative Party. Additionally, some opponents called his stint on the show an “insult” to bereaved families who had lost loved ones to COVID.
He was suspended as an MP, but when it became clear that he had lost the support of party members, he announced his intention to leave politics due to new challenges.
LONDON POLICE CHIEF IS FORCED OUT
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick arrives at Scotland Yard on January 25, 2022 in London.
(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
UK Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick resigned in February.
A series of force-shaking scandals followed after allegations of institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan later said that the public had lost “trust” in the force and he had lost “trust” in Dick to bring about the necessary changes.
It followed up on Dick’s claims that she had been “intimidated” into resigning.
Among the scandals that led to his resignation was the murder of Sarah Everard while serving Metropolitan Police firearms officer Wayne Couzens.
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A vigil for the victim drew criticism after the women were handcuffed and detained while other officers shared inappropriate and offensive messages about Everard and other women, leading to allegations of a culture of misogyny on the force.
There were also delays in the investigation into the “Partygate” affair, which involved then-Prime Minister Johnson and other government colleagues, and another scandal involving racist, sexist and homophobic messages shared by officials on WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
