With his premiership hanging in the balance, the UK prime minister retaliated by sacking Michael Gove, one of the ministers who told him to leave, in a sign that Johnson intended to go down fighting. Johnson has been warned that if he does not resign, there will be further cabinet resignations, followed by an inevitable humiliating defeat by Tory MPs in a no-confidence vote next week. Gove was the first minister to tell Johnson to resign. A government spokesman said: “Michael basically told him it was time to go – it was over.” A Number 10 source told the BBC that Gove was “a snake”. Johnson told ministers he would fight, effectively daring them to quit. Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, was the only additional minister to resign in protest at Johnson’s intransigence by 11pm on Wednesday. But Suella Braverman, the pro-Brexit attorney general and a Johnson ally, told ITV’s Peston there was “an overwhelming sense of despair among Tory MPs”, adding that it was time for the prime minister to resign. She said she would run in any leadership election. Despite growing clamor for him to quit, the prime minister warned that if he does there will be a chaotic Tory leadership contest amid an economic crisis. “It would take us three months to separate each other,” said a Johnson ally. “We would elect a leader without a mandate, which would prompt the opposition to demand an election which the Conservatives would lose.” Johnson’s power ran out during a dramatic day in which more than 40 government resignations and scores of other Tory MPs denounced his character and integrity. It ended with the Prime Minister being confronted in Downing Street by once-loyal ministers – including newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi – and told to resign with dignity. “The game is over,” said one minister. Even Priti Patel, the interior secretary closely associated with Johnson’s tough immigration policy, told him that the mood in the party had turned strongly against him and that he should go, according to government insiders. But Downing Street insiders said Johnson would not resign, pointing to his 2019 election mandate, adding that he would fill vacancies left by resigning ministers. However, Whitehall sources told the Financial Times that some job offers were rejected by Tory MPs. Meanwhile, Johnson told ministers he would draw up a new economic plan, including offering tax cuts and more deregulation, in a joint speech with Zahawi next week. After months of criticism of Johnson’s leadership and integrity – centered on his handling of the partygate affair – the decline in the prime minister’s power has been rapid.

The final straw for many was Johnson’s untruthful account of what he knew about the past sexual harassment of Chris Pincher, whom he appointed deputy captain in February and who resigned in disgrace last week after drunkenly groping two men at a private members’ club. . Sajid Javid, who resigned as health secretary on Tuesday, questioned Johnson’s “truth and integrity” and lamented that ministers were being sent to defend positions that did not “stand up” to scrutiny. In a powerful resignation speech, he told MPs: “Enough is enough.” Many other Tory ministers and MPs have come to the same conclusion and Chris Heaton-Harris, chief whip, was among those who told Johnson he would now lose a confidence vote, which could come early next week. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary who has advised Johnson on parliamentary arithmetic in the past, warned he had “little chance” of winning the vote and should stand down with dignity. An election for the executive of the Tory 1922 committee will be held next Monday, with the expectation that the new group will change party rules to allow for a direct vote of confidence.

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The Prime Minister noted a reduced number during Question Time in the House of Commons, where he insisted he would “carry on” – but almost silence from Conservative MPs behind him. Johnson, who became prime minister less than three years ago, insisted he had secured a “colossal mandate” from voters in the December 2019 election. But throughout the day, ministerial resignations erupted, raising questions about whether Johnson could find enough Tory MPs willing to fill the vacancies. Loyal ministers including Shapps, Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis later told Johnson he had to resign before things got worse.

Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary and a staunch loyalist, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunity minister, are said by government officials to have urged Johnson to fight. Johnson was in talks with his closest advisers in Downing Street on Wednesday night as his premiership hung in the balance. Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party, appeared to acknowledge that Johnson’s departure was a foregone conclusion, attacking his potential successors as “a Z-list of beckoning dogs”. A member of the 1922 executive branch said lawmakers wanted a leadership contest started as soon as possible to have a new leader to replace Johnson by the fall.