Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have both quit their Cabinet positions this evening. Mr Sunak said it was a decision he had 'not taken lightly' while Mr Javid said he could not continue in 'good conscience'.
Mr Sunak had been Chancellor since February 2020, taking over from Mr Javid, and helped spear-head a number of schemes during the coronavirus pandemic. This included the Eat Out to Help Out campaign, offering discount in the hospitality sector, and the furlough scheme.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, which he shared on Twitter, the now former Chancellor said the public expect government to be 'conducted properly'. He added: “I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."
Mr Javid, who took over as Health Secretary from Matt Hancock, said the British people “expect integrity from their government” but voters now believed Mr Johnson’s administration was neither competent nor “acting in the national interest”. He said: “I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too.”
"The country needs a strong and principled Conservative Party, and the Party is bigger than any one individual. I served you loyally and as a friend, but we all serve the country first. When made to choose between those loyalties there can only be one answer.”
He also told Boris Johnson: “You will forever be credited with seeing off the threat of Corbynism, and breaking the deadlock on Brexit.”
The resignations came as Mr Johnson was forced into a humiliating apology over his handling of the Chris Pincher row after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct.
Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019. The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.
Asked if that was an error, Mr Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do. I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. I want to make absolutely clear that there’s no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power.”
The loss of crunch by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield in June triggered the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden. But the resignations of Mr Javid – a former leadership contender – and Mr Sunak, viewed as a potential successor to the Prime Minister, mean Mr Johnson’s position is now perilous.
Mr Sunak, who had been due to make a joint economic speech with Mr Johnson next week, said “it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different”. “I firmly believe the public are ready to hear that truth,” he said.
“Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it’s not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one.”
