Former Government Minister Hammers Boris Johnson On Channel 4 Privatization As UK Prime Minister Gears Up For No Confidence Vote Tonight

deadline.com:

A former Conservative government minister and Boris Johnson supporter has slammed the sale of Channel 4 as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue” as the Prime Minister gets ready to face a no confidence vote in his leadership tonight.Jesse Norman, who used to be a senior Treasury Minister and has supported Johnson as both Prime Minister and Mayor of London for decades, delivered a scathing  attack on Johnson’s leadership in an open letter just 30 minutes before the no confidence vote was confirmed this morning.Norman lambasted virtually all aspects of Johnson’s current leadership including the sale of Channel 4, which he described as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue during a time of crisis.”The sale, which was enacted into legislation last month and is now making its way through UK parliament, will come “at significant cost to the independent UK film and TV industry,” added Norman, who said the government more generally “lacks a sense of mission” and has “no long-term plan.”Norman is one of a number of Conservative MPs to criticize the sale over the past few months, while 96% of respondents to the government consultation into Channel 4 privatization signalled that it is a bad idea.If Johnson is removed, a new Culture Secretary replacing incumbent Nadine Dorries may choose to reverse the decision to sell Channel 4.No ConfidenceNorman took aim at Johnson’s “presiding over a culture of casual law-breaking at 10 Downing Street” in reference to Partygate, the scandal that has engulfed Johnson’s government over the past six months.That scandal, which has led to the investigation of a number of parties that allegedly took place within the Prime