In major blow, 2 key ministers quit Boris Johnson government

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was clinging to power Tuesday after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit saying they had lost confidence in Johnsons leadership amid shifting explanations about his handling of a sexual misconduct scandalTreasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other costing Johnson the support of the men responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain the costofliving crisis and surging COVID19 infectionsBoth cited Johnsons credibility after a day in which the prime minister was forced to backtrack on earlier statements about the scandal that has rattled his government for the past six daysThe debacle is only the latest to hit Johnson who last month narrowly survived a vote of no confidence triggered by similarly shifting stories about lockdownbreaking parties in government officesIn his letter of resignation Javid said the confidence vote showed a large number of Conservative Party lawmakers had lost trust in JohnsonIt was a moment for humility grip and a new direction Javid said I regret to say however that it is clear this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence tooA few minutes later Sunak echoed those sentiments The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly competently and seriously Sunak said I realize that this may be my last ministerial job but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning Both Sunak and Javid are seen as possible contenders to replace Johnson if he is forced outWhile the resignations heaped pressure on the prime minister Johnson has in the past proven to be an adept politician fighting off criticism to prolong his careerJohnson quickly named two loyalists to the positions Steve Barclay got Javids old job while Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi replaces Sunak as Treasury chief Downing Street saidAt the same time Foreign Secretary Liz Truss swiftly threw her support behind Johnson Other Cabinet members including Culture Secretary Nadine Dories Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel were also in his cornerBut Scott Lucas an emeritus professor 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 CabinetHes not going to go without a fight Lucas said I just dont know how many people are left to fight alongside himThe latest scandal began Thursday when Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip amid complaints that he groped two men at a private club That triggered a series of reports about past allegations levelled against Pincher and questions about why Johnson promoted him to a senior job enforcing party discipline Pincher denies the allegationsJohnsons office initially said he wasnt aware of the previous accusations when he promoted Pincher in February By Monday a spokesman said Johnson knew of allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaintThat account didnt sit well with Simon McDonald the most senior civil servant at the UK Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020 In a highly unusual move McDonald went public with claims that the prime ministers office wasnt telling the truthMcDonald said in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards that he received complaints about Pinchers behaviour in the summer of 2019 shortly after Pincher became a Foreign Office minister An investigation upheld the complaint and Pincher apologised for his actions McDonald saidMr Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation McDonald wroteHours after McDonalds comments were published Johnsons office changed its story again saying the prime minister had forgotten that Pincher was the subject of an official complaintThen minutes before Javid and Sunak announced their resignations Johnson told reporters that Pincher should have been fired from the government after a previous 2019 incidentAsked if it was an error to appoint Pincher to the government Johnson said I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it In hindsight it was the wrong thing to doThe shifting explanation from Johnson fuelled discontent within the Cabinet after ministers were forced to publicly deliver the prime ministers denials only to have the explanation shift the next dayJohnsons authority had already been shaken by last months confidence vote Although he survived 41 per cent of Conservatives voted to remove him from office But until Tuesday his Cabinet had largely stayed put and loyalConcerns about Johnsons leadership were fuelled by his responses to months of allegations about lockdownbreaking parties in government offices that ultimately resulted in 126 fines including one levied against JohnsonTwo weeks later Conservative candidates were badly beaten in two special elections to fill vacant seats in Parliament adding to the discontent within Johnsons party and suggesting the ongoing accusations were finding a toehold with the publicJohnson initially refused to suspend Pincher from the Conservative Party but he relented after a formal complaint about the groping allegations was filed with parliamentary authoritiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever