British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned on Tuesday night, plunging Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government into a crisis.
The two senior Cabinet ministers announced their departures within minutes of each other, just as the prime minister apologised saying he had made a mistake by appointing Conservative MP Chris Pincher as the deputy chief whip in the House of Commons despite sexual misconduct complaints against him.
But Pincher resigned last week from that post after confessing in a letter to Johnson that he had “drank far too much”, embarrassed himself and “caused upset” to people. The British media reported that Pincher had sexually assaulted two male guests at the Carlton Club in London. Pincher has also faced several previous allegations of sexual misconduct.
In his resignation letter shared on Twitter, Sunak, the eldest son of Indian immigrants, wrote he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that “we cannot continue like this”.
The 42-year-old 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.”
Javid’s resignation letter, also posted on his Twitter account, said that although Johnson survived a vote of no-confidence last month, the ruling Conservative Party was neither showing competence nor acting in the national interest.
“I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too,” Javid wrote in his letter.
After their announcement, Johnson immediately began reshuffling his Cabinet. He appointed Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi as his new finance minister. Steve Barclay, who was Johnson’s chief of staff, replaced Javid as health secretary, the BBC reported.
Besides Sunak and Javid, Conservative Party’s Vice Chairperson Bim Afolami, Trade envoy to Tunisia and Morocco Andrew Murrison and Johnson’s ministerial aides Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti have also left their roles, the BBC reported. More resignations are expected to follow suit, according to the public broadcaster.
