Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resign as Johnson’s leadership faces fresh crisis

Mr Sunak said “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously”, adding “I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

In an incendiary letter, Mr Javid 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”.

Read what York Outer MP Julian Sturdy thinks about the resignations here

Sir Keir Starmer has said “it’s clear that this Government is now collapsing” and said Cabinet ministers who have resigned have been “complicit” as the Prime Minister “disgraced his office”.

The Labour leader said in a statement: “After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, it’s clear that this Government is now collapsing. Tory cabinet ministers have known all along who this Prime Minister is.

“They have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga:
– backing him when he broke the law
– backing him when he lied repeatedly
– backing him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people.

“In doing so, they have been complicit every step of the way as he has disgraced his office and let down his country. If they had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago.

“The British public will not be fooled. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man won’t fix that.

“Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs.”

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.”

An ally of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, viewed as a potential leadership candidate, said she was “100 per cent behind the PM”.

Tory former chief whip Mark Harper, a consistent critic of Boris Johnson in recent months, tweeted: “Tonight we have seen leadership from (Rishi Sunak) and (Sajid Javid).

“Honourable decisions made by honourable men. The Conservative Party still has so much to offer to our country. It’s time for a fresh start.”

A source close to Ben Wallace, who has been tipped as a potential successor to Boris Johnson, said: “The Defence Secretary is not resigning.”

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel are not expected to quit.

A source close to Mr Raab said he was “loyal” to Mr Johnson, while an ally of Ms Patel said “she’s staying”.

More Cabinet ministers will resign and the Prime Minister will be shown the door, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has said.

Speaking to the PA news agency, the MP for North West Leicestershire said: “I guess they (Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid) finally got where much of the party got weeks if not months ago, that we just can’t carry on like this. What a shambles. It has been a shambles.”

When asked what he thinks prompted Mr Javid and Mr Sunak to resign, Mr Bridgen said: “The Pincher situation and the Prime Minister shown to have been lying again.”

On whether he thinks Boris Johnson will resign, the Tory MP said “he will be shown the door” and claimed more Cabinet ministers will resign.

Sir Keir Starmer had earlier called on members of the Cabinet to resign in response to Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.

The Labour leader said those remain in the Cabinet would be “nodding dogs” if they did not quit. Sir Keir spoke to journalists shortly before news of Rishi Sunak’s resignation broke. Asked if Mr Johnson was a “pathological liar,” he said: “Yes, he’s a liar.

“What we’re seeing this week is a repeat of what we’ve seen so many times, which is Government ministers going out onto the airwaves, giving answers to questions, and no sooner have they finished the media round that the answers they’ve given aren’t accurate because the Prime Minister and Number 10 haven’t been straight with them.

“That is not this week’s story, although it is this week’s story, it’s every week’s story. It’s on repeat, which is why you see the Conservative Party tearing itself apart today. Should his Cabinet members make sure he leaves office, yes they should. It’s their responsibility, in the national interest, to remove him from office.

“They know what he’s like, he’s said that he’s psychologically incapable of changing, and therefore they have to do what’s in the national interest and remove him.”

He continued: “They should resign, or force him to resign. They have to step up in the national interest now, otherwise they are nodding dogs in this. I would say to them directly: act in the national interest and resign.”