Rishi Sunak has revealed the Prime Minister has been blanking him since his abrupt resignation as Chancellor last month.
Mr Sunak, now bidding to become Tory leader and prime minister, provoked Boris Johnson’s downfall by being one of the first senior ministers to abandon his post in early July. At the same time, Sajid Javid quit his post as Health Secretary.
Both wrote incendiary resignation letters which said they no longer had faith in Mr Johnson after his handling of the scandal surrounding former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Dozens more MPs and ministers followed suit until Mr Johnson was forced to resign.
Last night (Thursday, August 11), Mr Sunak took part in a leadership hustings hosted by The Daily Telegraph alongside his rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Asked by the paper’s associate editor Camilla Tominey if he had spoken with the Prime Minister since he resigned from his Cabinet, Mr Sunak said: “I’ve messaged and called, but unsurprisingly he hasn’t returned my calls.”
On June 30, Chris Pincher dramatically resigned as deputy chief whip. He had allegedly assaulted two fellow guests the evening before at the Carlton Club, a Tory private members’ establishment in London.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson was not aware of any “specific allegations” about Mr Pincher when he appointed him to the whips office, but it emerged over the following days that he was told about them as far back as 2019. Mr Johnson was forced into a humiliating apology, saying he had forgotten about the allegations.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
