LONDON –
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, his office said on Thursday, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future that has paralyzed the British government.
An official at Johnson’s Downing Street office confirmed that the prime minister would announce his resignation later. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
Johnson had rejected calls from his cabinet to resign in the wake of the ethics scandals. He surrendered after more than 40 ministers resigned from his government and told him to leave.
It was not immediately clear if Johnson would remain in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader, who will replace him as prime minister.
Minutes before the news broke, Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi called on Johnson to resign just 36 hours after Johnson named him to the post, while another newly appointed cabinet minister resigned from his post.
Zahawi said Johnson knew the “right thing to do” was to “leave now.”
Zahawi was appointed Tuesday night to replace Rishi Sunak, who resigned saying he could no longer support Johnson after a series of ethics scandals.
Education Secretary Michelle Donelan, who was also appointed Tuesday following the resignation of her predecessor, announced her resignation Thursday morning.
Johnson had rebuffed calls for his resignation, holding firm even as dozens of officials resigned and previously loyal allies urged him to go after another scandal engulfed his leadership.
A group of Johnson’s most trusted cabinet ministers visited him at his Downing Street office on Wednesday and told him to stand down after losing the confidence of his party. But Johnson instead chose to fight for his political career and fired one of the cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported.
It is rare for a prime minister to cling to office in the face of so much pressure from his cabinet colleagues. The Guardian’s front page on Thursday called him “Desperate, Deceived.”
“He has violated the trust that was placed in him. She needs to recognize that she no longer has the moral authority to lead. And for him, it’s over,” Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press.
Johnson, 58, was known for his ability to get out of trouble. He remained in power despite accusations that he was too close to party donors, that he shielded supporters from accusations of intimidation and corruption, and that he misled Parliament and was dishonest with the public about party offices. of the government who broke the pandemic lockdown rules.
But recent revelations that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher, a Conservative lawmaker, before he promoted the man to a senior job turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy whip chief following complaints that he groped two men at a private club. That set off a series of reports about past allegations against Pincher, and shifting explanations from the government about what Johnson knew when he appointed him to a high-level post in party discipline enforcement.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Wednesday over the scandal. The two cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain: the cost of living crisis and COVID-19.
Javid captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnson’s actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government.
“At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough,” he told fellow lawmakers Wednesday. “I think that point is now.”