Even saving the climate does not give Boris Johnson a breathing space.

When he traveled to Glasgow on Wednesday to give the negotiations a boost, the opposition accused him of just wanting to slip away from the "felt debate".

At a press conference at the COP26 center, the Prime Minister was so bombarded with questions about the misconduct of Conservative MPs that he was prompted to reassure the international audience that Britain was "not remotely a corrupt country."

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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While many still speak of a “storm in a water glass”, others see the political end of Johnson's approaching.

Even the pro-government Daily Telegraph asked, "How did it go downhill so quickly?"

The furor over the “felt” crisis is also mixed with anger at the Brexit management and the party's social democratization.

But the moral debate hits the Tories at a particularly sore point.

Johnson's attempt at rescue failed

The allegations fit into a pattern that she has followed for decades and that Johnson wanted to overcome by opening up to the socially disadvantaged.

With the two cases discussed, that of the former Environment Minister Owen Paterson and that of the former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, the ugly image of the Tory who goes into politics to make money is restored.

Paterson, who has since resigned his parliamentary mandate, had been accused of a mixture of interests by the commissioner for parliamentary standards after he had repeatedly antichambred for two companies paying him as a consultant.

After Johnson had failed in an attempt to save his fellow party members from being suspended by reforming the parliamentary supervisory authority, the debate flared up completely.

Now the focus is on Cox, about whom amazing details are known every day.

Not only did the lawyer defend companies that his own government had suspected of being money laundering, he also spent weeks in the Virgin Islands and took part - rarely - from the Caribbean in votes in the House of Commons.

The Guardian calculated that Cox earned more than seven million euros on the side in the 16 years of his parliamentary term.

Apparently, Cox correctly stated the income, but questions are directed towards his understanding of the parliament.

Johnson defended the fundamental right to outside employment.

The citizens wanted “MPs who have experience in the world”, which is why the system has proven itself over centuries.

Admission by the Chancellor of the Exchequer

However, he spoke out in favor of punishments where rules were violated and in favor of "appropriate sanctions" if MPs should "not prioritize the interests of their voters". The committee for parliamentary standards is now to examine whether Cox skipped votes because of legal activities, but also whether he has applied for support for a rented second home.

The opposition has been sniffing the morning breeze for a long time and is outraged as much as possible, but Johnson is also defended.

The excitement and devastating public impression document the functioning of British democracy, said Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, often a critic of the Prime Minister.

There are few countries that have such tight controls on their MPs, he said.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak tried to take pressure off the discussion on Thursday with an admission: "The government must say that we have to do better than last week, and we know that."