Boris Johnson on Wednesday pledged to fight on against snowballing pressure to resign as British prime minister, but his defiance was met with yet more ministerial resignations and derision from a growing number of his own Conservative PMs. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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12:22: UK's minister of state for health resigns
In his resignation letter, Ed Argar says it was "time to consider the future, and the 'big call' of how we face that future with integrity, and in that context I fear that change is needed in order for our Party to continue to deliver on our shared ambitions for our country."
12:15: UK's attorney general calls on Johnson to resign
The attorney general for England and Wales, Suella Braverman said in an interview with ITV on Wednesday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should resign and she would run to replace him.
11:41: Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart resigns
Hart announced his resignation on Twitter saying "there seems no other option left but to step down from my role as Secretary of State for Wales."
10:16pm: Johnson sacks senior minister Michael Gove, BBC reports
Johnson has sacked senior minister Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason reported. The Daily Mail reported earlier in the day that Gove had told Johnson to resign.
Although Gove's role is not one of the most senior in the cabinet, he is arguably considered the most heavyweight figure in government, with more than a decade of experience and a track record of getting things done in government.
8:42pm: Patel sides with group of ministers saying Johnson must go, Times journalist says
Home Secretary Priti Patel has joined the group of ministers saying Johnson must resign, a reporter for The Times said. Patel was hitherto a key ally of Johnson, who gave her one of the Great Offices of State in 2019 after her brief tenure as Theresa May's international development secretary ended with her standing down due to unauthorised meetings with the Israeli government.
7:05pm: Johnson won't face confidence vote this week as MPs await committee elections
A new confidence vote in Johnson will not be brought by his MPs until at least next week, after the Conservative Party committee governing the rules agreed to elect a new executive before considering allowing one.
The 1922 Committee decided on Wednesday it would hold an election to its executive on Monday, before deciding whether to change the rules to bring forward a confidence vote in Johnson, three Conservative MPs said.
That new executive of the committee, which oversees any confidence vote in a Conservative Party leader, will then decide whether to change the rules to bring forward such a vote, which currently cannot take place until next year, the lawmakers said.
7:04pm: Head of UK Conservative 1922 committee seen entering government offices
The head of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, has entered the Cabinet Office, a government building adjoining Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street office, a Reuters photographer said.
6:42pm: 'Noose is tightening' around Johnson
"The noose is indeed tightening," FRANCE 24's Bénédicte Paviot reported from London. "The question we have to ask is three words: Is it over? Is Boris Johnson about to be forced out of office, even possibly as soon as this evening? There is no certainty. The only is that, as I speak, Boris Johnson has just finished his second grilling of the day after Prime Minister's Questions, which was a very gruelling -- unsurprisingly -- session; not just from the opposition benches, the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, but from his very own benches. Really, losing hour by hour the power, the authority."
5:53pm: Group of ministers including new chancellor to tell Johnson to go
A group of cabinet ministers are about to tell Johnson to quit, including the man who has just been appointed as the new chancellor of the exchequer, media reports said on Wednesday.
BBC Political Editor Chris Mason said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps would lead a delegation on Wednesday evening. The Times newspaper reported that Nadhim Zahawi, appointed as chancellor late on Tuesday as Johnson's government started to collapse, would be part of the delegation.
Zahawi had told reporters earlier on Wednesday that he gave his total backing to Johnson.
Asked about the reports, Johnson declined to comment directly.
5:05pm: Johnson tells committee it wouldn't be 'responsible' for him to resign now
Johnson told a parliamentary committee it wouldn't be "responsible" for him to resign amid the war in Ukraine: "I look at the the issues that this country faces [...] I look at the biggest war in Europe for 80 years," he said. "And I cannot, for the life of me, see how it is responsible just to walk away from that."
4:49pm: UK markets shrug off new political drama but brace for more
British markets on Wednesday braced for more political drama as Johnson was rocked by further ministerial resignations and calls for him to go, although traders were reluctant to take new positions given the uncertainty.
Bookmakers have slashed odds on Johnson's imminent departure -- Betfair has a 96 percent chance of him leaving before end-2022 -- and analysts said markets had largely priced in his exit after a series of scandals including accusations that he breached his own Covid lockdown rules weakened his authority.
The pound dropped to more than two-year lows but the moves were largely driven by a broad-based rally in the dollar as investors - worried about rising recession risks -- looked for safety.
4:40pm: Junior minister Rachel Maclean becomes yet another to resign
Britain's minister for safeguarding Rachel Maclean resigned from her post on Wednesday, becoming the latest government official to step down in protest at Johnson's leadership.
4:38pm: 'Tap on the shoulder' from senior Tories 'doesn't work' on Johnson
Conservative Party rules mean a leader cannot face more than one vote of no confidence within a year, and Johnson won the vote in June. Hence the decision about whether or not Johnson resigns "won't be his if enough MPs effect a change in the rules and if he then loses a no confidence motion, so those two things would have to be lined up first", noted FRANCE 24 International Affairs Editor Armen Georgian.
"So the question of changing the rules in order to allow him to face another no confidence vote [...] that's the first thing that this backbench committee called the 1992 Committee is going to be considering," Georgian continued.
"It's true that there are also senior Conservatives who have told Boris Johnson that it's time to go, notably Michael Gove, a leading Conservative figure; a famous Brexiteer. He has reportedly told Boris Johnson that his time is up. But of course the tap on the shoulder, that worked on previous Conservative leaders but it doesn't work on Boris Johnson," Georgian added.
4:28pm: Johnson says no to Labour calls for snap election
Johnson rejected demands by the Labour opposition for a snap election: "I really don't think that anybody in this country wants politicians to be engaged in electioneering now," he told a committee of MPs. "And I think that we need to get on with serving our voters, and dealing with the issues that they care about."
4:07pm: Five more junior ministers quit govt en masse
Five more junior ministers quit British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government en masse on Wednesday, taking the total number to 27 of Tory MPs who have resigned since Tuesday evening.
"In good faith, we must ask that, for the good of the party and the country, you step aside," the quintet said in their letter to him, as the chorus of calls grows from within the ruling Conservatives for Johnson to resign.
4:02pm: Johnson says 'no, no, no' to resignation
Arriving at the Palace of Westminster for a scheduled appearance before a parliamentary committee, the prime minister responded to a question about whether he will resign by saying "no, no, no" – apparently attempting to echo Margaret Thatcher's famous response to the idea of a European superstate in the House of Commons in 1990.
3:38pm: Key minister Gove has told Johnson to go, Daily Mail reporter says
Michael Gove, one of the most senior ministers in the British government, has told Johnson that he must quit, the deputy political editor of the Daily Mail reported.
The report said Gove had told Johnson on Wednesday morning that he needed to stand down. Gove torpedoed Johnson's leadership bid in 2016 before he agreed to work in his government when Johnson became prime minister in 2019.
Gove is the only member of Johnson's cabinet who was part of the Tory cabinet that took power in 2010 under then PM David Cameron in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Gove is widely seen as particularly effective at getting things done, even if he is unpopular amongst certain sections of the electorate.
3:28pm: Six further junior ministers resign
Six further junior ministers, Kemi Badenoch, Neil O'Brien, Alex Burghart, Lee Rowley, Julia Lopez and Mims Davies, resigned from Johnson's government on Wednesday.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
