Live: Boris Johnson clings to power as dozens of ministers abandon his government

Issued on: 07/07/2022 – 09:56

10:00am: New UK finance minister Zahawi tells PM Johnson to ‘go now’

New UK finance minister Nadhim Zahawi, only appointed two days ago following the resignation of predecessor Rishi Sunak, on Thursday urged prime Minister Boris Johnson to “do the right thing and go now.”

“Prime Minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

9:52am: UK education minister quits after two days in office

 British education minister Michelle Donelan resigned from government on Thursday less than 48 hours after she was appointed, saying it was the only way to force the hand of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to quit.

“I see no way that you can continue in post, but without a formal mechanism to remove you it seems that the only way that this is… possible is for those of us who remain in Cabinet to force your hand,” Donelan wrote in a resignation letter, saying she had “pleaded” with Johnson on Wednesday to resign.

“You have put us in an impossible situation… as someone who values integrity above all else, I have no choice.”

9:02am: British junior culture minister resigns, calls for Johnson to go

British junior culture minister Chris Philp quit on Thursday, the latest minister to call for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign over a series of scandals that have dogged his administration.

8:52am: British pensions minister Opperman quits

Guy Opperman, a British junior minister who oversees pensions, resigned on Thursday, saying the unwillingness of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to quit had left him no choice.

8:17am: British security minister Hinds quits

British security minister Damian Hinds quit on Thursday, saying the country needed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to go in order to restore trust in our democracy.

“More important than any government or leader are the standards we uphold in public life and faith in our democracy and public administration,” Hinds said in his resignation letter to Johnson.

“Because of the serious erosion in these, I have come to the conclusion that the right thing for our country and for our party is for you to stand down as party leader and prime minister.”

7:55am: Britain’s Northern Ireland minister resigns

Britain’s minister for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, quit on Thursday, saying he no longer believed the values of honesty, integrity and mutual respect were being upheld by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.

Lewis joined around 40 politicians who have quit government positions in the last two days in an effort to force Johnson out of power. Helen Whately, a junior treasury minister, also quit on Thursday.

6:29am: UK PM clinging to power as resignations pile up

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was clinging to power Thursday, having defiantly responded to calls from his loyalists to step down by sacking a minister and former top ally. 

More than 40 ministers and aides, including three cabinet members, have quit the government since late Tuesday, with resignations continuing to trickle in overnight.

The Conservative leader was confronted at various points on Wednesday by members of his cabinet telling him it was time to go, local media said. 

His reaction was to fire Communities Secretary Michael Gove, reportedly the first to tell him that he must resign for the good of the Tory party and country, with a source close to Johnson telling the BBC that Gove was “a snake”. 

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)