Ex-PM calls actions of Johnson’s govt ‘politically corrupt’

LONDON: Former British Prime Minister John Major on Saturday attacked fellow Conservative Boris Johnson's handling of a corruption row, calling the conduct "shameful" and saying this could undermine his popularity.

Johnson was forced to make an embarrassing U-turn after he abandoned plans pushed through Parliament to protect a lawmaker found to have broken lobbying rules.

Major, who was Britain's prime minister between 1990-1997, said this week’s behaviour by the government had trashed the reputation of Parliament and damaged the country's standing in the world. "I think the way the government handled that was shameful, wrong and unworthy of this, or indeed any government," he said in a BBC interview. "There’s a general whiff of ‘we are the masters now’ about their behaviour," he said. "It has to stop and it has to stop soon." Downing Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment.