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28 January 2022 / John Gould
Issue: 7964 / Categories: Opinion , Constitutional law , Procedure & practice , Profession
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No Minister

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69739
Misbehaviour in public office: John Gould examines the limitations of the Ministerial Code

Whenever a government minister is in trouble for misbehaving—which, let’s face it, is pretty often these days—much reference is made to the Ministerial Code. It is presented as the weight against which the potential sinner will be weighed in the balance and, if found wanting, the writing will be on the wall for their ministerial career. From the way it is presented, one might think that it was right up there with Magna Carta, the Napoleonic Code or the Riot Act made in the first year of the reign of King George. According to the BBC, if a minister breaches the code, they are expected to resign whatever the breach.

Precious principles

While it may be reassuring to think that ministers have to observe a code which operates in the same way as the codes and rules applying to professionals like doctors and lawyers, it is not actually so. In a regulatory sense, the code does not, in fact,

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