Live: UK’s Johnson says ‘no’ to quitting amid intensifying calls for him to go

Issued on: 06/07/2022 – 16:16Modified: 06/07/2022 – 16:21

4:07pm: Five more junior ministers quit govt en masse

Five more junior ministers quit British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government en masse on Wednesday, taking the total number to 27 of Tory MPs who have resigned since Tuesday evening.

“In good faith, we must ask that, for the good of the party and the country, you step aside,” the quintet said in their letter to him, as the chorus of calls grows from within the ruling Conservatives for Johnson to resign.

4:02pm: Johnson says ‘no, no, no’ to resignation

Arriving at the Palace of Westminster for a scheduled appearance before a parliamentary committee, the prime minister responded to a question about whether he will resign by saying “no, no, no” – apparently attempting to echo Margaret Thatcher’s famous response to the idea of a European superstate in the House of Commons in 1990.

3:38pm: Key minister Gove has told Johnson to go, Daily Mail reporter says

Michael Gove, one of the most senior ministers in the British government, has told Johnson that he must quit, the deputy political editor of the Daily Mail reported.

The report said Gove had told Johnson on Wednesday morning that he needed to stand down. Gove torpedoed Johnson’s leadership bid in 2016 before he agreed to work in his government when Johnson became prime minister in 2019.

Gove is the only member of Johnson’s cabinet who was part of the Tory cabinet that took power in 2010 under then PM David Cameron in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Gove is widely seen as particularly effective at getting things done, even if he is unpopular amongst certain sections of the electorate.

3:28pm: Six further junior ministers resign

Six further junior ministers, Kemi Badenoch, Neil O’Brien, Alex Burghart, Lee Rowley, Julia Lopez and Mims Davies, resigned from Johnson’s government on Wednesday.