A string of Tory MPs have now resigned from their jobs in Boris Johnson’s Government as pressure continues to build on the Prime Minister.

Johnson faced two damning resignations from his top cabinet colleagues Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday (July 5) evening.

The double resignation comes as Boris Johnson was forced to apologise over his handling of the Chris Pincher row after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct.

Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.

Boris Johnson admitted “it was a mistake” to give scandal-hit former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher his government role and said: “I apologise for it.”

But the Prime Minister is facing a huge backlash from his own MPs for his “mistake” in appointing Mr Pincher, with more than THIRTY MPs having resigned from their government jobs since last night.

Full List of Resignations under Boris Johnson

(Scroll down to the bottom to see the latest resignations)

1. Sajid Javid – Health Secretary

Health Secretary Sajid Javid was the first to announce his resignation, potentially sparking the wave of resignations that have followed.

Resigning from his role the Health Secretary said it was an “enormous privilege” to serve in the roll but could “no longer continue in good conscience”.

In a letter to the Prime Minister the Bromsgrove MP said: “We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither.”

2. Rishi Sunak – Chancellor (Richmond MP)

Rishi Sunak has resigned as chancellor, telling the Prime Minister that standards in Government are “worth fighting for”.

The chancellor and Richmond MP resigned shortly after 6pm on Tuesday evening, shortly after health secretary Sajid Javid.

Writing in his resignation letter Sunak said: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently, and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

3. Andrew Murrison – Trade Envoy to Morocco

The now former Trade Envoy to Morrocco Andrew Murrison resigned saying the Prime Minister’s position has become “unrecoverable” and said “I strongly urge [the Prime Minister] to resign.”

4. Bim Afolami – Conservative Party Vice-Chair

Tory Party Vice-Chair Bim Afolami spectacularly resigned during a live TV interview on Tuesday (July 5) evening on TalkTV.

He told The Newsdesk: “I can’t serve under the Prime Minister and I say that with regret.

“I think when you’ve lost trust in people, and the Prime Minister asked at the confidence vote to be given time to restore that trust, and I took that as many others did in the party.

“But I think it becomes clear especially after losing the support of two of his closest party colleagues that the time has come for him to stand down.”

5. Jonathan Gullis – PPS to the Northern Ireland Secretary

Mr Gullis, a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Northern Ireland Secretary told said in his resignation letter: “I feel for too long we have been more focused on dealing with our reputational damage rather than delivering for the people of this country”.

6. Saqib Bhatti – PPS to the Health Secretary

Saqib Bhatti, the now former Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), shared a picture of his resignation letter on Twitter, writing: "The Conservative party has always been the party of integrity and honour but recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life.

“It is for this reason that sadly, I must resign. I will continue working hard for my constituents on the issues that matter to them."

7. Nicola Richards – PPS to the Transport Secretary

Adding to the list of resignations was PPS to the Transport Secretary Nicola Richards who said the government had been “skewed by poor judgement”.

Tweeting her resignation letter she said: “I will always remain loyal to my constituents and the Conservative Party. Tonight I’ve made the tough decision to resign as a PPS.”

8. Virginia Crosbie – PPS to the Wales Secretary

The Welsh MP became the eighth to hand in her resignation letter following a series of departures.

She said: “I am of the view that if you continue in office then you risk irrevocably harming this government, and the Conservative party and will hand the keys of Downing Street to a Labour Party unfit to govern.”

9. Theo Clark – Trade Envoy to Kenya

Announcing her resignation, Clark said she was ‘very sad’ to be resigning as Trade Envoy to Kenya but said she “no longer [has] confidence in [the Prime Minister]’s leadership”.

10. Alex Chalk – Solicitor General

Posting his resignation on Twitter, Solicitor General Alex Chalk said that serving in the government could not “extend to defending the indefensible” and referenced Partygate, the Owen Paterson scandal and Chris Pincher allegations in his reasons for stepping down.

He also said he would not be doing any interviews about his resignation.

11. Will Quince – Children and Families Minister

Will Quince has resigned as children’s minister after he repeated assurances over the Chris Pincher scandal which were “found to be inaccurate”.

The MP for Colchester tweeted a photograph of his letter of resignation to Boris Johnson, adding: “With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate.

“I wish my successor well – it is the best job in Government.”

In his letter tendering his resignation as children and families minister, Will Quince said he had “no choice” after he appeared on television to defend Boris Johnson using Downing Street briefings “which have now been found to be inaccurate”.

12. Laura Trott – PPS to the Transport Secretary

Resigning from her role as a PPS, Trott said in a post on Facebook: "Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the utmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost.

"Thank you to all of you who have written to me expressing your views. I have read them carefully, and taken them into consideration as part of my decision."

13. Robin Walker – Schools Minister

School standards minister Mr Walker quit on Wednesday (July 6) morning saying that “recent events have made it clear to me that our great party, for which I have campaigned all of my adult life, has become distracted from its core missions by a relentless focus on questions over leadership”.

The loss of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid “reflects a worrying narrowing of the broad church that I believe any Conservative government should seek to achieve”, he added in his resignation letter to Boris Johnson.

He told Mr Johnson the “great achievements” of the Government had been “overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity”.

14. Felicity Buchan – PPS to the Business Secretary

Kensington MP Felicity Buchan has resigned from her role as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In a letter posted to Twitter, she said “the current situation is untenable”.

15. John Glen – Treasury Minister

Treasury minister John Glen has resigned, telling Boris Johnson “I can no longer reconcile my commitment to the role” with “the complete lack of confidence I have in your continuing leadership of our country”.

16. Victoria Atkins – Justice Minister

Victoria Atkins has resigned as a justice minister, telling Boris Johnson “I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values” and “we can and must be better than this”.

17. Jo Churchill – Defra Minister

Tweeting at the start of Prime Ministers Questions DEFRA Minister Jo Churchill posted a picture of her resignation letter.

18. Stuart Andrew - Housing Minister

The Pudsey, Horsforth, and Aireborough MP resigned on Tuesday lunchtime after Prime Ministers Questions, saying he feared he had let "loyalty and unity" "override [his] judgement".

19. Selaine Saxby - PPS to the Treasury

The now former PPS who served under Rishi Sunak at the Treasury has resigned from her role.

In a damning resignation letter to the PM she said: "Trust, trurth and integrity are vital in our work as politicians and public servants, and I had hoped that the reset earlier in the year might have given us the chance for a different direction, however, the events of this week have shown that not to be the case."

20. Claire Coutinho - PPS to the Treasury

East Surrey MP Claire Coutinho became the twentieth MP to resign from her governmental role. The PPS to the Treasury resigned following colleague Selaine Sexby's resgination.

21. David Johnston - PPS to the Education Secretary

Mr Johnston MP quit as PPS at the Department for Education on Wednesday (July 6) afternoon saying: "I do not believe [Boris Johnson] can provide the leadership the country needs."

22. Kemi Badenoch - Equalities and Local Government Minister

23. Neil O'Brien - Levelling Up Minister

24. Alex Burghart - Education Minister

25. Lee Rowley - Business Minister

26. Julia Lopez - Culture Minister

FIVE Ministers, Badenoch, O'Brien, Burghart, Rowley and Lopez all quit in a joint resignation letter just after 2.30pm on Wednesday (July 6) afternoon taking the resignation tally over TWENTY FIVE.

In a joint letter they wrote: “It is with great regret that we are resigning as members of the Government. It has been an honour to serve in your administration and we remain extremely grateful for the opportunity you have given us to serve our country.

“You have had the most difficult task in a generation. We hugely admire your fortitude, stamina and enduring optimism. You can be rightly proud of the significant decisions which you have, by common acclamation, got right.

“However, it has become increasingly clear that the Government cannot function given the issues that have come to light and the way in which they have been handled. In good faith, we must ask that, for the good of the Party and the country, you step aside.”

27. Duncan Barker - PPS to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Mr Barker resigned shortly after 3pm from his role as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

In a statement on Facebook he said: "I do not have confidence in the Prime Minister and resign my role as a PPS in the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities."

28. Fay Jones - PPS to the Leader of the House

Fay Jones effectively quit her role as PPS to Leader of the House of Commons Mark Spencer saying that she would resign on Thursday if the Prime Minister was still in post.

In a letter to her boss Mr Spencer she said: "It is with deep regret that I urge you to press the Prime Minister to go [...]

"If the Prime Minister fails to leave office by tomorrow, I will be formally resigning my role as PPS. When I became the Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire, I won first prize in the lottery of life.

"They deserve to be served by a government fully capable of delivering the vision we promised them.”

29. Craig Williams - PPS to the Chancellor

Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams resigned posting his resignation letter on Twitter. 

In the letter he said: “After the recent vote of confidence, I had given my support to you, with one last benefit of the doubt. I believed it was right that we draw a line under previous events and focus on rebuilding trust with the public and focusing on delivering good policies.

“It has now become apparent over recent days, that this is becoming impossible.

“It is therefore with deep regret that I resign from your Government.”

30. Rachel Maclean - Home Office Minister

Home Office Minister Rachel Maclean became the thirtieth MP to resign from their government role on Wednesday (July 6) afternoon.

The Redditch MP said her brief of “woefully low rate of prosecutions for sexual offences” would "not be possible" while Boris Johnson remains in office.

31. Mark Logan - PPS to the Northern Ireland Secretary

Former Northern Ireland PPS Mark Logan has resigned saying that the people of his Bolton constituency "deserve more".

32. Mike Freer - Exports and Equalities Minister

Mike Freer has resigned from his roles as equalities and exports minister saying there is “an atmosphere of hostility for LGBT+ people”.

33. Mark Fletcher - PPS to the Business Secretary

Mark Fletcher, the Tory MP for Bolsover who witnessed Chris Pincher’s actions at the Carlton Club last week, has resigned from his role as parliamentary private secretary to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, saying Boris Johnson’s response to the incident as “crass and insensitive”.

He continued: "I reported the events immediately to the Chief Whip, who took appropriate action and handled the situation with superb levels of seriousness and care. On Friday, upon my raising concerns around Mr Pincher still having the whip, you and I spoke about the events that had happened on Thursday morning.

“I was reassured that shortly after our call you did the right thing and suspended the whip for Mr Pincher.

"However, in our conversation in the tearoom yesterday, you suggested that the events of that night were the fault of the colleagues who were present for allowing him to drink so much.

“Such a view seems to me an attempt to absolve Mr Pincher of his actions and, in so doing, to be an apologist for someone who has committed sexual assault. I am unable to accept such a crass and insensitive interpretation of what happened that night."

34. Sara Britcliffe​ - PPS to the Education Secretary 

Britcliffe, MP for Hyndburn, has resigned as PPS to the Education Secretary.

Posting her resignation letter on Twitter she said the government's "self-inflicted crisis" risks undoing its hard work.

35. Peter Gibson - PPS to the Department for Trade 

Peter Gibson, MP for Darlington, said he was resigning from his role as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for International Trade.

He highlighted his experience as a gay MP, saying: “On Saturday last week I marched with LGBT+ Conservatives at London Pride.

“As a gay MP, that should have been a liberating, enjoyable experience, instead due to the damage our party has inflicted on itself over the failure to include trans people in the ban on conversion therapy, it was a humiliating experience and signalled to me the immense damage that has been so needlessly inflicted after years of hard work by many to rebuild the damage of Section 28.”

He added: “It is of the upmost importance that the Office of Prime Minister represents all the high standards required of public life, which I do not believe it presently does.”

The Northern Echo:

36. Ruth Edwards, parliamentary private secretary at the Scottish Office

Ruth Edwards, the Tory MP for Rushcliffe, has resigned as parliamentary private secretary at the Scottish Office, stating Boris Johnson’s Government “turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual assault within its own ranks”.

In her letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Edwards wrote: “I am deeply proud of everything your Government has achieved in the last two and a half years. We have delivered record investment into the East Midlands, some of the most ambitious progress towards net zero in the world, one of the fastest vaccine rollouts and shown international leadership in standing up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the work I have been most proud to support is the work by successive ministers at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to support survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

“That is why I was heartbroken to learn on Wednesday that you were made aware of serious allegations of sexual assault against Chris Pincher and that, despite this, you went on to appoint him, not just to another government role, but to a role of such sensitivity, where he would deal with both vulnerable colleagues and members of staff who may have been victims of such assaults themselves.

“I know my resignation will carry little weight in the grand scheme of things. But when I leave this job, either of my own will or that of my constituents, I need to be able to do so with my self respect intact. I am deeply saddened to say that this is no longer compatible with continuing to serve in a government whose leadership has turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual assault within its own ranks.

“It has been my great privilege to work with my Secretary of State, Alister Jack, for the last two years. I have been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to learn from one of the most able, honourable and hardworking ministers in Government.

“I want to place on record my sincere thanks to you, for everything you have done to see our country through the pandemic, and for the way in which you have worked with me and my constituents to tackle important issues such as making community defibrillators more affordable. I also want to reiterate my very great sadness that things have come to this.”

37. David Duguid - trade envoy

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has resigned as a trade envoy.

In a statement, he said: “In light of recent events, I believe the Prime Minister’s position is now untenable.

“Having indicated my concerns internally earlier this week, it is my intention to stand down from my position as Fisheries Envoy and Trade Envoy for Angola and Zambia.”

38. James Sunderland - PPS at Defra

James Sunderland, the Tory MP for Bracknell, has resigned from his post as parliamentary private secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

He said in a statement posted to Facebook: “I have today resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Defra. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the trouble to share their views with me in recent months.

“I continue to serve the people of Bracknell, Crowthorne, Finchampstead, Sandhurst and Wokingham Without to the best of my ability.”

39. Jacob Young - PPS 

Jacob Young, the MP for Redcar and Cleveland, was PPS for the department for levelling up.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said: "I hoped that I would not have to do this, and you know I am grateful for all the support you have given to the people of Teesside.

“However, as I told the Chief Whip and your advisers earlier today, your position is no longer tenable.

“Sadly, you no longer commands the support of the parliamentary party and as you have not heeded the advice given to you, I feel I am left with no choice but to step down. You know of my personal loyalty to you, and so you will now how it pains me to withdraw my support in this way.”

He added: “Today you are failing to listen to those most loyal to you. It is out of that same loyalty that I urge you to now step aside, and allow the country to move forward.”

40. David Mundell - UK Trade Envoy to New Zealand

The MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale tweeted: “I am very disappointed that the Prime Minister has not listened to the counsel of colleagues and stood down voluntarily in the interests of the country.

“Earlier this week I wrote to the Chairman of the 1922 Committee confirming I had no confidence in the Prime Minister and asking that a further vote of confidence be held. I hope this can now take place as a matter of urgency.

“Clearly such views are not compatible with holding a Government role and accordingly I have stood down as UK Trade Envoy to New Zealand.”

41. James Daly - PPS for Department for Work and Pensions

Bury North MP James Daly has resigned as a parliamentary private secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions stating he has “lost confidence” in the Prime Minister.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, he wrote: “Due to recent events, it has become very clear that you are sadly unable to lead our Government and deliver on the policies that will change lives for the better and create opportunity for all.

“As a result of the above, I have lost confidence in your leadership of our great party and therefore as outlined above I must resign.”

42. Danny Kruger - PPS for Department of Levelling Up

Conservative MP Danny Kruger has said he is resigning as parliamentary private secretary for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities following the sacking of Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove.

The Devizes MP tweeted: “Very sorry indeed to hear @michaelgove has been fired by the PM.

“As I told No 10 earlier today it should be the PM leaving office. I am resigning as PPS at @Dluhc”.

43. Simon Hart - Secretary of State for Wales 

 

 

44. Ed Argar - Health minister

45. Gareth Davies PPS for Department of Health

The Grantham and Stamford MP tweeted: “It is with great regret that I have informed the whips office of my resignation. It has been a privilege to serve in the role and not a decision I have taken lightly.”

46. James Davies - PPS for Department of Health

"It is clear that the party and the country are no longer governable under your tenure," he wrote in a resignation letter.

47. Brandon Lewis - Northern Ireland secretary

Mr Lewis has resigned from the Cabinet, telling the Prime Minister that Government requires “honesty, integrity and mutual respect”.

48. Helen Whately - Treasury minister

Resigned on Thursday morning, telling Boris Johnson there “are only so many times you can apologise and move on’’.

49. Damian Hinds - Security minister

He said “we must have a change of leadership” for the sake of our country and our trust in democracy.

50. George Freeman - Science minister 

Mr Freeman said he no longer had confidence in Boris Johnson, saying “enough is enough”.

51. Guy Opperman - Pensions minister

The Northumberland MP has resigned as pensions minister, asking for a “leadership change” in his letter on Thursday morning. “We both know, I was particularly upset at the behaviour of the No 10 team during the Covid restrictions,” the Hexham MP wrote.

52. Chris Philp - Technology minister

On Thursday morning, he said the “PM should step down given public and Parliamentary confidence has clearly gone, and given the importance of integrity in public life”.

53. James Cartlidge - Courts’ minister

He quit on Thurday, telling Boris Johnson: “The position is clearly untenable.”

54. Michelle Donelan - Education Secretary

55. Caroline Johnson - Conservative Party vice-chair

56. Luke Hall - deputy chair of the Conservative Party

57. Rob Butler - PPS to the Foreign Office

58. Rebecca Pow - Environment minister

“Earlier this morning I tendered my resignation as Environment Minister. Values, integrity and the morals by which I live are at stake, and the needs of the country must always come first.”

Check back for more updates later today

Read more: Stockton South MP Matt Vickers gives no indication of leaving role after string of Tory resignations​

Read more: LIVE UPDATES: More Tory ministers resign after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid quit

Read more: Rishi Sunak is bookie's favourite to become Prime Minister

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