Britain's Boris Johnson has defied pressure from senior ministers to quit and a mounting rebellion within his party, vowing to stay on as Prime Minister and fight off any attempts to oust him.
After more than 30 resignations from within the government, a delegation of some of his most trusted allies in the cabinet paid a visit to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street to urge him to go, but he remained unmoved, Britain's Press Association reported.
The Prime Minister turned down suggestions that he seek a "dignified exit" and opted instead to fight for his political career, citing "hugely important issues facing the country," according to the news agency.
It cited a source close to Mr Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be "chaos" if he quit.
"I am not going to step down and the last thing this country needs, frankly, is an election," Mr Johnson told a parliamentary committee, saying he had a mandate from the 2019 national election, which he won with a large majority.
On Wednesday, Mr Johnson sacked senior minister Michael Gove as secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, the BBC reported.
Earlier, Mr Johnson had faced a stormy session of the House of Commons amid a furore over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official.
"The Prime Minister is deluded if he feels he can cling on in the face of collapsed parliamentary support," said a senior Conservative MP on condition of anonymity.
But Culture Minister Nadine Dories said she was behind Mr Johnson and, when asked if others also still backed him, she replied: "Yes, definitely."
The dramatic resignations on Tuesday of his health and finance ministers triggered a growing swell of other ministerial departures.
The resignations, now numbering in the 30s, continued on Wednesday with Simon Hart stepping down from his role as Secretary of State for Wales.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, Mr Hart said: "Colleagues have done their upmost in private and public to help you turn the ship around but it is with sadness that l feel we have passed the point where this is possible."
Many Conservative MPs openly said they wanted Mr Johnson gone, questioning his fitness to govern and his integrity.
At parliamentary questions on Wednesday, some Conservatives struggled not to laugh when others poked fun at him, and he took a pummelling from a committee of senior politicians over his past behaviour, his motivation and some of the scandals that have come to define much of his tenure.
The 58-year-old leader, who pulled Britain out of the European Union and steered it through the COVID-19 outbreak, is known for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots, managing to remain in power despite allegations that: he was too close to party donors; he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations; he misled Parliament about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules.
Johnson facing a second confidence vote
Mr Johnson refused to say if he would try to stay in the job even if he lost a confidence vote from his own MPs.
He narrowly won a similar vote last month.
"The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you've been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going," Mr Johnson told parliament on Wednesday.
"And that's what I'm going to do."
Badly wounded by the resignations of a stream of senior colleagues and junior ministers who said he was not fit to govern, Mr Johnson sought to come out fighting at parliament's weekly PM's questions session.
With the tide of resignations rising to more than 32, some questioned whether Mr Johnson could fill vacancies at a time when there are calls for the government to tackle a cost-of-living crisis and support an economy heading for a sharp slowdown, possibly a recession.
The fate of his leadership could be decided next week at a meeting of Conservative party members if he has not resigned or been ousted before then.
The Conservative Private Members' Committee will hold an election to its executive before deciding whether to change the rules to bring forward a confidence vote in Mr Johnson, three Conservative party members said on Wednesday.
The so-called 1922 Committee, which sets the rules governing when the party can hold a confidence vote in its leaders, decided on Wednesday to hold an election of a new executive on Monday.
That new executive will then decide whether to change the rules to bring forward such a vote, which currently cannot take place until next year, as Mr Johnson had only last month survived a no-confidence motion.
It is unclear how long it would take for a rule change to occur after the election.
A spokesperson said Mr Johnson was confident he would win a confidence motion.
Javid calls for more senior resignations
In his parting speech as a minister, the former health secretary said the public expects members of government to "maintain honesty and to maintain integrity" and warned of the precarious position it was now in.
"We've seen in great democracies what happens when divisions are entrenched and not bridged," Mr Javid said.
"We cannot allow that to happen here."
Mr Javid also called on more senior colleagues to resign on Wednesday, saying it had become increasingly difficult to stay in government.
Mr Javid said at some point people had to conclude that enough is enough.
"That point is now," he said.
In his resignation letter to the prime minister, financial services minister John Glen said that he could "no longer reconcile" his commitment to the role with "the complete lack of confidence" in Mr Johnson's leadership.
"Recent events concerning the handling of the appointment of the former Deputy Chief Whip, and the poor judgement you have shown, have made it impossible for me to square continued service with my conscience," he wrote.
Outgoing junior housing minister Stuart Andrew said he had no other choice but to resign after his loyalty to the Prime Minister had cost him some of his integrity.
"Loyalty and unity are traits that I have always endeavoured to provide for our great party. However, I fear I have let these override my judgement recently," Mr Stuart wrote on Twitter.
"There comes a time when you have to look at your own personal integrity and that time is now."
"Given recent events, I have no other choice than to resign."
During the PM's questions session on Wednesday, Conservative MP David Davis gave a blistering attack on the embattled leader, calling for him to prioritise the nations' interests and resign.
"Six months ago I called on the Prime Minister to resign because even then, it was clear that his approach to leadership and integrity was already creating a pipeline of problems that will paralyse proper government," he said.
In response Mr Johnson brushed off the remarks, saying he "just couldn't disagree with him more".
ABC/Reuters
