Have Johnson and Sunak now been convicted?
No. This is a fine, not a conviction. Assuming they don’t appeal, then it’s accepted that they broke the law; but their legal troubles would end with them paying the fine – there would be no court hearing, no conviction, and no further consequences.
Only if they try to appeal the fine would it go to court.
Can they be removed as ministers?
This seems much more likely.
The ministerial code sets high standards which serving government ministers must uphold. They’re much stricter rules than are required of MPs.
Ministers are expected “to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety.” This is hard to square with receiving a fine levied for breaking the law while you were a minister. Past ministers have offered to resign for much less, from “a moment of madness” in a park, to being late to Parliament.
There are also the “seven principles of public life”, which ministers must uphold. One of them is “accountability”. At least four more may apply here: integrity, openness, honesty and leadership.
What’s more, the Ministerial Code states that it “should be read against the background of the overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life”.
Incidentally, the foreword to the code was written by Johnson himself. It says that to “win back the trust of the British people, we must uphold the very highest standards of propriety”. It adds: “The precious principles of public life enshrined in this document – integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest – must be honoured at all times.”
Could Parliament make them resign?
Theoretically, yes.
Under the ministerial code, “ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held to account” for their “actions”. In particular, “it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity”.
“Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation,” which could make life very difficult for Johnson, given his earlier categorical denials in Parliament.
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