Tired of repeated scandals, two leading British ministers slammed the door on Tuesday evening within minutes of each other. A blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, increasingly weakened.
Health Minister Sajid Javid tendered his resignation, explaining in a letter posted on Twitter that the head of government had “lost his confidence”. He was followed minutes later by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
The two resignations came as Boris Johnson had just publicly apologized, acknowledging that he had made a “mistake” in appointing Chris Pincher to his government in February, who resigned last week after being accused of touching two men.
Downing Street had initially denied having been made aware of older accusations having targeted this deputy chief “whip”, responsible for the parliamentary discipline of Conservative MPs.
A version discredited by a former senior Foreign Affairs official, prompting Downing Street to admit on Tuesday that the Prime Minister had indeed been informed in 2019 of accusations against Mr. Pincher, but that he had “forgotten” them by naming it.
” I think this was a mistake [de le nommer au gouvernement] and I apologize for that,” Johnson told reporters after being once again accused of lying.
Serial scandals
The Pincher affair will have been the last straw for MM. Javid and Sunak, weary of the scandals that have shaken the government and the Prime Minister’s entourage for months.
Boris Johnson was already considerably weakened by the “Partygate”, this scandal of parties organized in Downing Street despite the restrictions in the face of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The case earned him a fine – a first for a sitting UK prime minister – and a vote of no confidence from his own side, which he narrowly survived last month.
There have been several sexual cases in Parliament: an unnamed MP suspected of rape was arrested and then released on bail in mid-May, another resigned in April for watching pornography in the House on his mobile phone. in April and a former MP was sentenced in May to 18 months in prison for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy.
The departure of these two deputies caused partial legislative elections and heavy defeats for the Conservatives, followed by the departure of the party’s president, Oliver Dowden. And this while the party had already suffered a very poor result in the local elections in May.
These scandals are taking place against a backdrop of a tense social climate, with inflation at its highest for 40 years, at the origin in particular of a massive strike by railway workers.
The resignation of Rishi Sunak, 42, comes amid a cost of living crisis. “The public rightfully expects the government to be conducted in a competent and serious manner” and “that is why I am resigning,” Mr Sunak wrote in his letter to Mr Johnson.
Cherry on the cake
For his part, Mr. Javid, 52, who had preceded Mr. Sunak at the Ministry of Finance, judged that the British were entitled to expect “integrity from their government”.
The no-confidence vote that targeted Mr Johnson last month could have been an opportunity to show “humility” and show “new direction”, he wrote. “I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this will not be the case under your leadership — and you have therefore lost my trust.” »
The Pincher affair was “the icing on the cake” for the two ministers, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said on Sky News.
“It is time for Boris to go. He can let this drag on for a few hours if he wants. But I and a large part of the party are now determined that he is gone before the summer holidays: the sooner the better,” he added.
It is “clear that this government is collapsing”, reacted the leader of the Labor opposition, Keir Starmer. “Only a real change of government can give the UK the fresh start it needs. »