Oris Johnson faces the biggest leadership crisis of his presidency after Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor and Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary.
The Prime Minister has struggled to stay at number 10 as his handling of the scandal over scandal-ridden former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher has become the latest issue to raise questions about his judgment.
A humiliating apology from the Prime Minister was unable to prevent the departure of two senior ministers and potential leadership rivals, both of whom wrote inflammatory letters of resignation.
Mr Sunak said “the public rightly expects the government to act properly, competently and seriously”, adding: “I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”
Mr Javid said the British people “expect integrity from their government”, but voters now believe that Mr Johnson’s administration is not competent, nor “acting in the national interest”.
The prime minister’s authority has already been damaged by a vote of confidence in which 41% of his own MPs have withdrawn their support.
The loss of by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield in June caused the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden, while there is still anger over parties locking up the coronavirus in Downing Street.
The twin resignations of mr. Javid and Mr. Sunak means that Mr. Johnson’s position is now dangerous, but cabinet ministers including Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace have indicated they will remain in government.
However, Bim Afolami resigned live on TV as Tory vice-chairman, while Andrew Murrison resigned as trade envoy to Morocco.
The prime minister’s fate could ultimately lie with backbench MPs if the Tory 1922 committee’s rules are changed to allow another vote of confidence within 12 months.
Allies of Mr. Johnson believes this is unlikely as it will leave any future leader with a “gun to their head”.
A sign that the Prime Minister was in danger came with a hastily-arranged broadcast interview in his Commons office.
He tried to contain the quarrel over Mr Pincher after it emerged he had forgotten that he had been told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” behavior.
Mr Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip last week after allegations that he touched two men at the luxury Carlton club, but Mr. Johnson knew as far back as 2019 of allegations against him.
The prime minister admitted he had to Mr. Pincher resigned when it was found that he had acted inappropriately when he was a foreign minister in 2019, but instead, Mr. Johnson appointed him to other government roles.
Asked if it was a mistake, Mr. Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologize for that. Afterwards it was the wrong thing to do.
“I apologize to everyone who was badly affected by it. I want to make it absolutely clear that there is no place in this government for anyone who is a predator or who abuses their position of power. “
MPs have been told that Mr. Johnson did not recall being told of the earlier 2019 allegations.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Mr. Pincher was indicted for his “inappropriate” behavior at the time “in no uncertain terms” and the Cabinet Office’s property and ethics team was also involved.
No. 10 initially claimed that Mr. Johnson was not aware of any “specific allegations”, according to Mr. Pincher’s dramatic resignation.
By Monday, that line had developed to acknowledge that the Prime Minister was aware of “allegations that have either been resolved or have not progressed to a formal complaint”.
Cabinet Office Secretary Michael Ellis told MPs “last week, when new allegations arose, the prime minister did not immediately recall the conversation about this incident in late 2019”.
“As soon as he was reminded of that, the no. 10-press office corrected their public rules. ”
Mr Johnson denied that he lied to his assistants about the situation.
The recognition that Mr. Johnson forgot about the earlier complaint, came after the former top government official at the foreign office, Lord McDonald, said the original no. 10-account is “not true” and the prime minister is “personally” informed.
As well as the complaint from the Foreign Office, Mr. Johnson also informed about another allegation against Mr. Pincher at the time of the reshuffle when he was appointed deputy chief whip in February 2022, although this claim was “not taken over”, according to No. 10.
A third incident, the one that Mr. Pincher’s resignation is now being investigated by Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer called for a general election, saying: “Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs.”
In the Commons, the atmosphere among Tory MPs was mutiny with critics rising up to deal with the situation by Mr. Johnson se nr. 10 condemn operation.
But ministers loyal to Mr. Johnson gathered around him after Tuesday night’s resignations.
Secretary of Culture Nadine Dorries said he “consistently gets all the big decisions right”, while Brexit Opportunity Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the mandate won at the 2019 general election should not be taken from him. not be taken away because a number of people are resigning ”.