PartyGate: Boris Johnsons time at Downing Street in peril as aides resign

Prime Minister Boris
Johnson is perhaps going through the toughest phase of his political career,
with 10 people of his inner circle resigning from their posts after the
“partygate” scandal rocked the United Kingdom.

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Long-term advisor Munira Mirza resigns 

Johnson’s long-term ally and
key policy advisor Munira Mirza on Thursday resigned, delivering a blow to the
beleaguered Prime Minister and triggering a flurry of other resignations in
his top team.

There is buzz that a few
other members of his cabinet could quit on Friday, although Energy Minister
Greg Hands said the exodus was a sign that Johnson was “taking
charge”, having promised a clear out of staff following the
“partygate” revelations.

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“The Prime Minister was
absolutely clear on Monday that there would be changes at the top of No 10 and
that is what he has delivered,” he told Sky News.

But among all the
resignations so far, the departure of his close aide Mirza has increased the
sense that the fate of the prime minister is no longer in his own hands.

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Mirza called it quit after
Johnson linked Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer to the failure by UK
authorities to prosecute veteran TV host Jimmy Savile for child sex offences.
Revelations about Savile emerged after his death in 2011.

Since the ‘partygate’
scandal broke out Johnson tried to shoot back on Wednesday, after his own
Conservative Party MPs criticized him along with the media. 

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Rishi Sunak to replace Johnson?

After Mirza’s resignation,
now it is understood that his finance minister Rishi Sunak, who is tipped as a
leading contender to replace Johnson, did not defend his boss’s comments.

“I wouldn’t have said
it and I’m glad the prime minister clarified it,” Sunak told a news
conference on Thursday night.

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The UK is rocked by the ‘partygate’ scandal

The UK has been gripped for
weeks about the ‘partygate’ revelations, and a brewing Conservative
revolt that could yet see Johnson face a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Downing Street, meanwhile,
confirmed that chief of staff Dan Rosenfield was leaving, just over a year
after he took on the role with a brief to professionalise Johnson’s chaotic
operation.

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His resignation comes after
a top civil servant, in a long-awaited inquiry, this week condemned
“failures of leadership” over a series of parties held in violation
of Covid restrictions.

Also going is Martin
Reynolds — the top civil servant in Johnson’s operation — who sent a
now-notorious email in May 2020 urging Downing Street staff to “bring your
own booze” to one lockdown gathering.