All before 8.30AM
Boris Johnson’s inability to accept that he has lost the confidence of Conservative MPs has triggered another wave of ministerial resignations, with seven MPs quitting government before 8.30am this morning.
It brings the total number of ministerial resignations to 54.
Early on Thursday morning, Brandon Lewis, quit his as Northern Ireland Secretary, telling the Prime Minister his Government is “now past the point of no return”.
And before the dust could settle on his resignation, education secretary Michelle Donelan quit less than 36 hours into the job, heaping further pressure on PM Boris Johnson.
Meanwhile, newly appointed chancellor Nadhim Zahawi urged Johnson to “do the right thing and go now” in a public letter posted on Twitter.
Zahawi was promoted from education secretary to chancellor only on Tuesday night, following Rishi Sunak’s shock resignation.
Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now. pic.twitter.com/F2iKT1PhvC
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) July 7, 2022
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