The prime minister survived Partygate, two by-election defeats and a vote of no confidence, but two high-profile resignations could be the straw that breaks the camel's back
Boris Johnson's future as the Prime Minister of Britain was hanging by a thread this evening following the resignation of his Chancellor and Health Secretary.
Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid both sensationally walked out on the PM after he was forced into a humiliating apology over his handling of the Chris Pincher row.
It emerged today that he had
"forgotten" about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct.
Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.
The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.
Asked if that was an error, Mr Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.
In his resignation letter, Sunal said the public "rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously”, adding “I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”
In an incendiary letter, Mr Javid said the British people “expect integrity from their government” but voters now believed Mr Johnson’s administration was neither competent nor “acting in the national interest”.
'It's happening' was
trending on Twitter shortly after the announcement as speculation over an impending resignation mounted.
Here's a flavour of what people had to say:
https://twitter.com/PeterStefanovi2/status/1544369893491064833?s=20&t=IkucAtkn6T_ZPXaOBx1UfQ
https://twitter.com/krishgm/status/1544368752850075650?s=20&t=9SjmtOrNoeqJlrvbkv2Cbg
https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1544366561254940675?s=20&t=bX69psKaCAB5JKa3weLDoQ
https://twitter.com/furious_robot/status/1544370112685301762?s=20&t=R9fg8lYEwMKLJvgBdHtNhQ
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