Four Julys ago, Boris Johnson finally made it to the top of the “'greasy pole”. A year ago, he was forced to resign as prime minister, setting off an ill-fated succession race. Last month he quit as an MP as well, censured by an investigation into the Partygate scandal. This July will be the first for more than 20 years in which Johnson has no political office.

That fall from grace would not have happened without relentless inquisitive journalism – much of it by my Guardian team – that helped expose how Johnson and his aides violated lockdown rules with parties, gave lucrative contracts to cronies and travelled during the pandemic when they should've stayed at home. And we didn't stop there: in the Rishi Sunak era, no fewer than three cabinet ministers – Nadhim Zahawi, Gavin Williamson and Dominic Raab – have resigned in large part as a result of Guardian investigations that have found them falling short of the standards required of office.

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