Johnson resignation: Admission of defeat or tactical ploy?

Following allegations that Johnson had attended parties at Downing Street, a clear breach of the government's own social distancing rules, Johnson informed MPs that he had not broken the rules.

Evidence presented to the committee, especially by civil servants, suggested otherwise, raising the prospect that Johnson could be suspended from parliament if found guilty.

Throughout the hearings, which have been taking place for several months, Johnson has remained bullish, believing he could convince the all-party committee of his innocence.

But when he was finally presented with a draft of the committee's findings at the end of last week, Johnson's response was to resign his seat, thereby denying the committee the opportunity to sanction him.

Read more: Boris Johnson in theatrical resignation: 'Infamy, infamy...they've all got in for me'

While Johnson's bombshell resignation as an MP has sent shock waves throughout the Westminster political establishment, it is now clear the move is just another clever political move by Johnson to preserve his political standing.

For, far from retiring from politics altogether, Johnson made it abundantly clear that he saw his departure from Westminster as a temporary measure, one that would be reversed at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Certainly, few of his parliamentary colleagues were in any doubt that his resignation statement left the door open to a return to the House of Commons further down the line when he said he was "very sad to be leaving Parliament – at least for now".

Johnson's comments were an echo of those made when he was forced to stand down as prime minister last year when, during his final Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, he bid a prime ministerial farewell with "Hasta La Vista".

Resignation or calculated move?

Having spent the past 22 years in front-line politics, including three years at No 10 following stints as foreign secretary and as London mayor, politics courses through Johnson's veins, to the extent that his 1020-word resignation statement reads more likely a calculated attack designed to undermine Rishi Sunak, who played a key role in his downfall before himself becoming prime minister, than an acceptance that his political career is over.

Read more: Boris fell, but is not finished 

While Johnson will now stand down as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip after 15 years, he clearly sees his resignation more as a tactical ploy than an admission of defeat.

And he lays the blame for his decision squarely at the door of the Privileges Committee, which he has described as being  "prejudiced" and a "kangaroo court", one that was intent on driving him into the political wilderness.

Indeed, Johnson appears to have convinced himself that he has been targeted for the prominent role he played in persuading the British public to vote for Brexit back in 2016.

"I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch hunt underway, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result," he claimed.

Going on the offense

But rather than allowing himself to be a victim of any "witch hunt", Johnson has clearly opted to go on the offensive against his tormentors, not least Sunak.

Nearly a year after his removal from Downing Street, Johnson made a point of comparing his own record to that of his successor, suggesting that the current prime minister stands no chance of holding on to the massive 80-seat parliamentary majority that Johnson won in the last general election in 2019.

Johnson is also highly critical of Sunak's handling of the economy, arguing that he had failed to support a "pro-growth and pro-investment agenda".

"We need to cut business and personal taxes – and not just as pre-election gimmicks – rather than endlessly putting them up." Sunak's failure to secure a trade deal with the US was another example of his failure to build on Johnson's Brexit legacy.

"Why have we so passively abandoned the prospect of a Free Trade Deal with the US?" Johnson demanded.

For the moment, with the next British general election at least a year away, Johnson will most likely bide his time before deciding on his options for a political comeback.

In the year since he left Downing Street Johnson has already established himself on the global speaking circuit, earning more than £4.2 million from commitments spanning Nigeria, New York and Singapore.

He is also working on a memoir on his time in Downing Street which, when published, is bound to include a number of bombshell revelations.

So while Johnson prepares to take his leave of the parliamentary stage, all the indications are that the most talked-about figure in British politics is already laying the groundwork for his triumphant return.