Four of Boris Johnson's most senior aides have resigned in just 24 hours, rocking the PM's inner circle.
Policy chief Munira Mirza, director of communications Jack Doyle, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and chief of staff Dan Rosenfield all quit their Downing Street jobs on Thursday.
There was pressure on both Mr Doyle and Mr Reynolds to resign, after it was revealed they were involved in Downing Street gatherings during lockdown.
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Mr Reynolds sent an email inviting around 100 staff to "BYOB" to a garden party in Downing Street garden in May 2020 when the nation was under strict lockdown rules.
A No 10 spokesperson said: "Dan Rosenfield offered his resignation to the Prime Minister earlier today, which has been accepted.
"Martin Reynolds also informed the Prime Minister of his intention to stand down from his role as Principal Private Secretary and the Prime Minister has agreed to this.
"He has thanked them both for their significant contribution to government and No 10, including work on the pandemic response and economic recovery.
"They will continue in their roles while successors are appointed, and recruitment for both posts is underway."
Mr Reynolds is to return to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The PM is said to have previously refused Mr Doyle's resignation, but on Thursday a Downing Street spokesperson confirmed his departure, saying: "He has made a huge contribution and the prime minister is immensely grateful for the work he has done".
The resignations came on the same day Chancellor Rishi Sunak sought to distance himself from the prime minister's Jimmy Savile smear on Sir Keir Starmer, telling a Downing Street press conference: "I wouldn't have said it".
Mr Doyle is the fourth of Mr Johnson's close allies to resign in just one day. Munira Mirza, the PM's policy chief, handed in her resignation over Boris Johnson's Jimmy Savile smear.
As she quit, Ms Mirza cited her boss's refusal to apologise for the false accusation that Sir Keir failed to lock up paedophile Savile while he was director of public prosecutions.
On a visit to Blackpool today, the Prime Minister finally admitted Mr Starmer "had nothing to do personally with those decisions".
"I want to be very clear about this because a lot of people have got very hot under the collar," Mr Johnson told reporters.
"I'm talking not about the leader of the opposition's personal record when he was when he was DPP and I totally understand that he had nothing to do personally with those decisions."
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