Counselors Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid announced that they had resigned in messages posted on Twitter within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening.
The most pressing controversy facing Johnson is the way Downing Street handled last week’s resignation of Whip Vice Chairman Chris Pincher, who resigned last Thursday amid allegations that he fumbled two guests at a private dinner the night before. While he did not directly acknowledge the allegations, Pincher said in a letter to Johnson that “I drank too much last night” and “embarrassed myself and others”.
“The public rightly expects the government to proceed properly, efficiently and seriously,” Sunak said in his resignation letter. “I realize this may be my last ministerial job, but I think these standards are worth striving for and that’s why I’m resigning.”
“In preparation for our proposed joint address on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally very different,” Sunak added in the letter. “I am sad to leave the government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this.”
Javid wrote that “it was a great honor for me to play this role, but I am sorry that I can no longer continue in good conscience.” Javid added that last month’s vote of confidence in the prime minister was “a moment of humility, fist and fresh direction”.
Javid wrote: “I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and therefore I have lost my confidence as well.”
Downing Street has struggled to explain why Pincher was in government in the first place, amid a flurry of revelations about his previous alleged behaviour.
When these reports emerged, Downing Street initially denied that the Prime Minister knew anything specific about them. Afterwards, Johnson’s team said it was aware of the historical allegations, but they were “dissolved”. When it turned out that one of the previously unreported allegations against Pincher had been upheld, Johnson’s spokesman clarified that “resolving” it could mean it was upheld.
Then on Tuesday morning, Simon MacDonald, the former chief civil servant at the State Department, revealed that Johnson had been personally briefed on the outcome of the investigation into Pincher’s conduct.
Minutes before Sunak and Judd announced their resignations, Johnson admitted it was “a mistake” to appoint Pincher to his cabinet.
For months, Johnson faced a barrage of criticism over his behavior and that of his government, including illegal lockdown-breaking parties thrown in his Downing Street offices for which he and others were fined.
Last month, he survived the confidence vote, but the final count of MPs who rebelled against him was higher than his supporters had expected: 41% of his parliamentary party refused to support him.
This is an evolving story.
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