LONDON — Boris Johnson’s troubled prime ministership is teetering on the brink after two of his most senior cabinet ministers resigned on Tuesday night.
The resignations of Rishi Sunak as Chancellor and Sajid Javid as Health Secretary within minutes of each other are the most serious double blow the Prime Minister has suffered since entering Downing Street in 2019.
The drama erupted after days of questions in Westminster about exactly what Johnson knew about a scandal involving one of his key allies – Chris Pincher – who resigned from a government role amid allegations of sexual abuse.
After days of intelligence and an explosive allegation from a former senior civil servant, Downing Street was forced to admit that Johnson had indeed been told in 2019 that Pincher was under investigation on separate charges. Despite this knowledge, the prime minister appointed him deputy chief whip, a role that – ironically – includes enforcing party discipline.
Johnson finally apologized Tuesday and admitted that giving Pincher the job was “the wrong thing to do.”
But the handling of this latest chapter of the Westminster drama reinforced the sense of a rolling crisis engulfing the premiere. On Tuesday afternoon, Javid and Sunak decided they could no longer work with him.
POLITICO takes you to the story of the latest scandal that appears to have been the last straw for two of the biggest beasts in the Johnson administration:
July 2016: Chris Pincher, MP for Tamworth, takes up his first government role in the whip’s office – charged with overseeing government discipline – after Theresa May becomes prime minister.
November 2017: Pincher steps down from the role after former professional rower and Tory campaigner Alex Storey accuses him of making unwanted passes. Pincher denies the allegations and a party inquiry later clears him of any wrongdoing.
Chris Pincher took up his first government role in the whip’s office in July 2016 | British Parliament
January 2018: Theresa May brings Pincher back into government as deputy leader in a minority government.
25 July 2019: Pincher is promoted to Secretary of State at the Foreign Office after Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister.
Summer 2019: Officials complain to chief diplomat Simon McDonald about Pincher’s behaviour. The allegations are described by McDonald as “similar” to allegations about his behavior at the Carlton Club last week. An investigation confirms the officials’ complaint. Pincher apologizes and promises not to repeat the behavior, according to McDonald’s account.
Late 2019: Johnson was informed of the complaint accepted against Pincher by State Department officials following the investigation. No 10 now characterizes the Prime Minister as informed rather than asked to take action, as the matter had been resolved.
February 2020: Pincher is transferred to the communities department.
9 February 2022: After playing a key role in so-called ‘Operation Save Big Dog’ – an effort by the Prime Minister’s allies to shore up the aftermath of a leadership threat – Pincher returns to the key parliamentary post of deputy leader.
In the hours after his appointment, an allegation was investigated by the Cabinet Office’s Fitness and Ethics Group. No. 10 says a different concern about the Foreign Office complaint was raised and considered but not taken forward and so it was not considered appropriate to prevent Pincher from taking that role.
June 30: Pincher resigns saying he “embarrassed himself” after drinking too much. An unnamed Downing Street source tells the BBC he will face no further action from the party and will retain the whip – meaning he can remain a Conservative MP. Three sources tell POLITICO that the prime minister was made aware of allegations against Pincher during the reshuffle in which he was promoted to deputy leader.
July 1: At Friday’s regular briefing of Westminster journalists, the prime minister’s deputy official spokesman insists the prime minister was not aware of any allegations against Mr Pincher when he promoted him in February. Later in the update, he corrects himself to say that Johnson was not aware of any “specific” charges against Pincher.
Later, July 1: Pincher suspends the whip while the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, the official complaints review mechanism, investigates allegations of foul play.
July 2: Pincher says he is seeking professional medical help.
July 3: Asked on Sunday’s political TV shows what the prime minister knew, Work and Pensions Minister Thérèse Coffey tells Sky News: “I’m not aware that he was informed of any particular allegations about any particular incident. I don’t think he knew that.”
July 4: Just after 7am: Will Quince, a junior minister, tells Sky News: “I’ve been waiting for this question, I’ve spoken to No 10 yesterday and this morning and I’ve firmly and clearly asked for a explanation of what had happened. And I have been categorically assured that the prime minister was not aware of any specific charge or complaint against the former deputy chief whip.”
Former top diplomat Simon McDonald publishes letter Boris Johnson told about 2019 probe | Will Oliver/EPA-EFE
11:30am: At the regular Downing Street briefing, the prime minister’s official spokesman changes the official line, telling reporters the prime minister was aware of “some allegations” which were “either resolved or not progressed”. But he said: “At the time of the appointment the Prime Minister was not aware that they were looking into specific allegations.”
10pm: The BBC reports that the Prime Minister was informed of the 2019 complaint while Pincher was working at the Foreign Office.
July 5: 7 a.m. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, in a media briefing, confirms Pincher was investigated for alleged misconduct while a minister at the Foreign Office, but says it did not lead to disciplinary action. Raab was foreign minister at the time of the investigation.
7:30 am Former chief diplomat Simon McDonald publishes a letter saying Johnson was in fact told about the 2019 inquiry and warns No 10 Downing Street to “come clean”.
12pm: The prime minister’s spokesman told reporters he had subsequently discovered that Johnson had been briefed on the Foreign Office investigation. Meanwhile in the House of Commons, payments strategist Michael Ellis tells MPs the Prime Minister had been briefed but “did not immediately recall the conversation”.
6pm: Johnson apologizes in a TV clip, saying appointing Pincher was “the wrong thing”.
18:02: Sajid Javid announces on Twitter that he has resigned as Health Secretary. In his resignation letter, he says the Tory party is no longer popular or considered competent. “It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and therefore you have lost my trust as well.”
6:11 pm: Rishi Sunak resigns, tweeting: “The public rightly expects the government to behave properly, competently and seriously. I recognize that this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for, and that is why I am stepping down.”
