Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit within minutes of each other, costing Johnson the support of the men responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain – the cost crisis of life and increasing COVID-19 infections. Both cited Johnson’s credibility after a day in which the prime minister was forced to backtrack on earlier statements about the scandal that has rocked his government for the past six days. The disaster is only the latest to hit Johnson, who last month narrowly survived a no-confidence vote sparked by similar shifting stories of parties breaking the lockdown in government offices. In his resignation letter, Javid said the confidence vote showed a large number of Conservative MPs had lost confidence in Johnson. “It was a moment for humility, holding on and a new direction,” Javid said. “I regret to say, however, that it is clear that this situation will not change under your leadership – and therefore you have lost my trust as well.” Minutes later, Sunak echoed those sentiments. “The public rightly expects the government to behave properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak said. “I realize this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am stepping down.” Both Sunak and Javid are seen as potential candidates to replace Johnson if he is forced out. While the resignations have put pressure on the prime minister, Johnson has proven in the past to be a seasoned politician, fighting off criticism to extend his career. Johnson quickly appointed two loyalists to the posts: Steve Barclay took Javid’s old job, while Education Minister Nadeem Zahawi is replacing Sunak as head of the Treasury, Downing Street said. At the same time, Secretary of State Liz Truss immediately threw her support behind Johnson. Other cabinet members including Culture Secretary Nadine Dories, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel were also in his corner. But Scott Lucas, a professor emeritus at the University of Birmingham and a longtime political observer, said it would be difficult for Johnson to ultimately survive the departure of two such senior members of his cabinet. “It’s not going to go down without a fight,” Lucas said. “I just don’t know how many people are left to fight alongside him.” The latest scandal began on Thursday when Chris Pincher resigned as deputy captain amid allegations he molested two men at a private club. That sparked a flurry of reports about past complaints against Pincher and questions about why Johnson promoted him to a top party enforcer. Pincher denies the allegations. Johnson’s office initially said it was unaware of the prior charges when it promoted Pincher in February. As of Monday, a spokesman said Johnson was aware of allegations that “were either resolved or did not proceed to a formal complaint.” This account did not sit well with Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant in the UK Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. In a highly unusual move, McDonald went public with allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office was not telling the truth. McDonald said in a letter to the parliamentary standards commissioner that he received complaints about Pincher’s behavior in the summer of 2019, shortly after Pincher became foreign secretary. An investigation upheld the complaint and Pincher apologized for his actions, McDonald said. “Mr. Johnson has been personally informed of the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald wrote. Hours after McDonald’s comments were published, Johnson’s office changed its story again, saying the prime minister had forgotten Pincher was the subject of a formal complaint. Then, minutes before Javid and Sunak announced their resignations, Johnson told reporters that Pincher should have been sacked by the government following an earlier incident in 2019. Asked if it was a mistake to appoint Pincher to the government, Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologize for that. In retrospect it was the mistake he made.” Johnson’s changing explanation sparked anger in the cabinet after ministers were forced to publicly outline the prime minister’s denials, only to have the explanation changed the next day. Johnson’s power had already been shaken by last month’s confidence vote. Although he survived, 41% of Conservatives voted to remove him from office. But by Tuesday his cabinet had remained largely stable and loyal. Concerns about Johnson’s leadership were fueled by his response to months of allegations about lockdown-breaking parties in government offices that eventually led to 126 fines, including one levied against Johnson. Two weeks later, Conservative candidates were badly defeated in two special elections to fill parliamentary vacancies, fueling discontent in Johnson’s party and suggesting that the ongoing charges are finding traction with the public. When Pincher stepped down last week as deputy chief, he told Johnson he had “drank too much” the night before and had “embarrassed myself and other people”. Johnson initially refused to suspend Pincher from the Conservative Party, but relented after a formal complaint about the whining allegations was lodged with parliamentary authorities. Critics argued that Johnson was slow to react because he did not want Pincher to be forced to resign his seat in parliament, setting the Conservatives up for another possible snap election defeat. Even before the Pincher scandal, suggestions were swirling that Johnson might soon face another no-confidence vote. Existing rules require 12 months between such votes, but several conservative lawmakers have suggested they support changing the rules in an upcoming vote on the issue. Senior Conservative MP Roger Gale, a long-time critic of Johnson, said he would support a change in the rules. “Sir. Johnson has for three days sent ministers – in one case a cabinet minister – to defend the indefensible, basically to lie on his behalf. This cannot go on,” Gale told the BBC. This prime minister has destroyed the reputation of a proud and honorable party for honesty and decency, and that is not acceptable.”
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