UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership suffered a huge blow, Tuesday, following the resignations of British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid.
Their resignations were announced on Twitter and seem to be in protest of Johnson’s current governance which is mired in scandal. The most recent incident involves how Johnson and Downing Street handled the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. He stepped down amid allegations of groping guests at a dinner party, and in a letter to Johnson, apologized saying “last night I drank far too much”. He admitted to embarrassing himself in front of other people.
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Johnson’s been in trouble since the partygate scandal and narrowly survived a no-confidence vote. However, those within the Conservative Party haven’t shown much confidence in his continued leadership and Sunak wrote “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. 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.”
Sunak, in his letter to the PM, said “I am sad to be leaving government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this.”
Meanwhile, Javid added, “It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience.”
In his letter to the PM, Javid added “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”.
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Downing Street admitted that Johnson was aware of previous reports of sexual misconduct against Pincher, at the time of his promotion, The Independent reported.
Johnson used to say “Pincher by name, pincher by nature”, the prime minister’s spokesperson confirmed.