BORIS Johnson was dogged by questions over Tory sleaze as he failed to draw a line under the allegations engulfing his party during a press conference at COP26.
The Prime Minister was met by boos when he arrived in Glasgow and took to the stage at the SEC this evening hoping to present a strong message on the UN negotiations on climate change.
Instead, he came under sustained questioning from reporters on the Owen Paterson saga, cronyism and MPs' lucrative second jobs.
The development came hours after Scottish Tory MP Andrew Bowie announced he was quitting as vice chair of the Conservatives and senior MPs in his own party pinned the blame for the crisis on Johnson.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson booed as he arrives at Glasgow Central train station
He was asked by ITV's Robert Peston whether he wanted to apologise for bringing the Commons into disrepute by attempting to overhaul the system of MPs' standards in order to stop Paterson - who had breached lobbying rules - from being suspended.
But Johnson did not apologise saying MPs found to have broken conduct rules “should be punished”.
He went on: “On the issue of MPs and second jobs and all that, I just want to say that the most important thing is that those who break the rules must be investigated and should be punished.”
Amid the latest controversy over Tory MP and former Attorney General Sir Geoffrey Cox earning hundreds of thousands of pounds from a second job advising the British Virgin Islands over corruption, the PM defended allowing MPs to have second jobs.
He said: “On second jobs, I would say that for hundreds of years MPs have gone to Parliament and also done work as doctors, lawyers or soldiers or firefighters or writers, or all sorts of other trades and callings.
READ MORE: MP Andrew Bowie quits as vice-chair of Conservative Party
“And on the whole, the UK population has understood that that has actually strengthened our democracy, because people basically feel that parliamentarians do need to have some experience of the world.
“But, if that system is going to continue today, then it is crucial that MPs follow the rules.
“And the rules say two crucial things: you must put your job as an MP first and you must devote yourself primarily and above all to your constituents and the people who send you to Westminster, to Parliament.
“And they also say that you should not use your position as an MP to lobby or otherwise intervene on behalf of any outside commercial interest. And it is not only that you have to register those interests – you can’t lobby or make representation while an MP on behalf of those interests.
“Those are the rules and they must be enforced and those who don’t obey them should of course face sanctions.”
Johnson was also pressed whether Britain’s political system is corrupt following the row over the conduct of some MPs.
The Prime Minister said: “I genuinely believe that the UK is not remotely a corrupt country, nor do I believe that our institutions are corrupt.
“We have a very, very tough system of parliamentary democracy and scrutiny, not least by the media.
“I think what you have got is cases where, sadly, MPs have broken the rules in the past, may be guilty of breaking the rules today. What I want to see is them facing appropriate sanctions.”
He also insisted all his activities as an MP and a minister are within the rules.
Speaking at a press conference at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, he said: “All my declarations are in conformity with the rules, and you can certainly study them, and that will remain the case.”
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