London: Former British Prime Minister John Major slammed fellow Conservative Boris Johnson's handling of a corruption scandal on Saturday, calling the behaviour "shameful" and warning that it could hurt Johnson's popularity. After abandoning plans pushed through parliament to protect a lawmaker found to have broken lobbying rules, Johnson was forced to make an embarrassing U-turn.

John Major, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, said the government's actions this week had tarnished parliament's reputation and harmed the country's international standing. In a BBC interview, he said, "I think the way the government handled that was shameful, wrong, and unworthy of this, or indeed any government." "Their behaviour has a general whiff of 'we are the masters now,'" he said. "It has to come to an end, and it has to come soon."

Johnson has remained silent since withdrawing his support for the lawmaker, but his education minister admitted that the government made a mistake on Friday. Johnson's ethics have been called into question as a result of the controversy. Other allegations of wrongdoing have been levelled against him, including plans to have party donors contribute secretly to a luxury renovation of his Downing Street flat. According to Johnson, the government followed the rules when it came to the refurbishment. According to a poll published on Saturday by the Daily Mail, 57 percent of voters agreed with a statement made this week by the prime minister's adviser on ethical standards that Britain could "slip into becoming a corrupt country."

Boris Johnson applauds Modi's commitment to a net-zero climate policy.

Australia reaches the milestone of vaccinating 80-pc of its population

Palestine applauds the UN's decision on the right to self-determination