When Nadhim Zahawi released his statement calling for the prime minister to go early on Thursday morning, his allies believed there was a risk he could be sacked as chancellor. He had held the post for two days.
Zahawi, who has a slick and advanced leadership campaign prepared, had taken the role in an effort to show he would act in the national interest. The statement he drafted was the words he used to the prime minister the night before, as part of a delegation of “men in grey suits” telling Johnson to go. The prime minister had sworn to fight for his premiership until his last breath.
