Caroline Lucas has slammed Boris Johnson for his “Trumpian” statement announcing his resignation as an MP.
The former Prime Minister accused a Commons investigation into whether he misled Parliament over Partygate of attempting to “drive me out” as he said he would quit his role in Westminster.
After receiving a letter from the Conservative-majority committee, he said he believed it was “determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament”.
In a statement, he said: “It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now - but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed with such egregious bias.”
In a scathing attack, he accused the committee of producing a report “riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice” and accused the probe of being a “witch hunt” and “revenge for Brexit”.
His decision to stand down as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip triggers a by-election in the marginal constituency.
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Ms Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, described Mr Johnson’s resignation statement as being “straight from the Trump playbook”.
She said: “Everyone knew he was not fit to hold public office before he was even an MP. Yet Tories made him their leader and look what happened.
“Evading scrutiny to the last and choosing to quit just hours after gifting peerages in an atrocious act of patronage and sleaze.
“It is entirely predictable that Johnson making baseless accusations that he’s been forced out - he even uses the word ‘witch hunt’.
“He lied about the most serious of things and was held to account for treating us all with contempt.”
Ms Lucas also announced earlier this week that she would be standing down as an MP at the next general election, after representing Brighton Pavilion since 2010.
In a letter to her constituents, she said: “The intensity of constituency commitments, together with the particular responsibilities of being my party’s sole MP, mean that I’ve not been able to focus as much as I would like on the existential challenges that drive me - the nature and climate emergencies.”
A date for the by-election in Boris Johnson’s former constituency has yet to be announced.
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