As Tory MPs begged the cabinet to sack the prime minister, Mr Javid walked away, saying: “I am sorry that I can no longer continue in good conscience.” The resignation came moments after Johnson broke his silence on the Chris Pincher scandal, apologizing for promoting him despite evidence of his sexual misconduct. “The tone you set as a leader and the values you represent reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country,” Mr Javid wrote. Moments later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak also resigned – seeming to spell the end of Johnson’s premiership “Citizens rightly expect government to function properly, competently and seriously,” Mr Sunak said, adding: “These standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am stepping down.” The double resignations came after the cabinet was filled with pale, somber faces at its weekly meeting – prompting speculation that a revolt was imminent. Senior Tories had urged Johnson’s top team to pull the plug on his premiership – after No 10 admitted he knew a misconduct complaint had been upheld against the man who made the deputy leader whip. “The backbenchers have done everything they can. It’s up to the cabinet to decide whether to go ahead or keep quiet,” former health secretary Steve Bryan told the Independent. William Wragg, chairman of the Commons public administration committee, urged ministers to follow their “common sense of decency”, while John Penrose, who resigned as Mr Johnson’s anti-corruption czar, suggested they would reach a point where they can’t “defend this anymore”. And Nick Gibb, the respected former schools secretary, likened the situation to the crisis in the US where you “worry whether democracy is safe” as he also urged the cabinet to act. “We have to make sure that doesn’t happen in this country. We need to get rid of the rot in our political system,” he told BBC Radio 4. The coordinated resignations followed a devastating intervention by a former head of the Foreign Office – who revealed that Mr Johnson had been informed of the complaint against Mr Pincher in 2019. Simon MacDonald said he was speaking out because the account given by Downing Street – which initially claimed the prime minister was unaware of any allegations – was not “true”. In a letter to the parliamentary standards commissioner, the retired mandarin said the 2019 allegations “were similar to those made about his behavior at the Carlton Club” – where Mr Pincher was accused of fondling two men. “Mr Pincher defrauded me and others in 2019. He cannot be allowed to use the secrecy of the proceedings three years ago to continue his predatory behavior in other contexts.” However, the Prime Minister’s spokesman continued to insist that the information about Mr Pincher’s behavior was not a reason for him to be removed from his post as deputy leader, with responsibility for the Tory MP’s welfare. The prestigious Institute for Government hit out at the dishonesty at No 10, calling on Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to intervene and saying: “The Prime Minister’s official spokesman cannot be a liar.”
