Eight more ministers resigned on Thursday, ultimately forcing Boris Johnson to step down as Conservative party leader. The education secretary, Michelle Donelan, was the last to hand in her notice on Thursday morning before No 10 briefed that he would leave. Having been in the post for less than 48 hours, Donelan told Johnson: “You have put us in an impossible situation.” She said she had pleaded with him on Wednesday to “do the right thing” and go. The latest resignations began early on Thursday morning with the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis. He was soon followed by the Treasury minister Helen Whately, the security minister, Damian Hinds, the science minister, George Freeman, the pensions minister, Guy Opperman, the technology minister, Chris Philp, and the courts’ minister, James Cartlidge. Lewis told the prime minister that government required “honesty, integrity and mutual respect”. In his resignation letter, he told Johnson he had “given you, and those around you, the benefit of the doubt”. “I have gone out and defended this government both publicly and privately. We are, however, now past the point of no return. I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now. It is clear that our party, parliamentary colleagues, volunteers and the whole country, deserve better.”
Lewis’s resignation was swiftly followed by Whately’s. The Treasury minister told Johnson there “are only so many times you can apologise and move on”. Whately, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, said: “With sincere regret I am resigning from HM government. I stood for parliament because I want to make our country a better place … Your vision for our country and your mission to level up has inspired and galvanised people. “As exchequer secretary I have seen this in practice and been proud to play a part. I have argued that you should continue as prime minister many times in recent months, but there are only so many times you can apologise and move on. That point has been reached.”
Hinds, the MP for East Hampshire, was the third minister to go on Thursday, saying there had been a “serious erosion” of standards. He wrote: “More important than any government or leader are the standards we uphold in public life and faith in our democracy and public administration. Because of the serious erosion in these, I have come to the conclusion that the right thing for our country and our party is for you to stand down, as party leader and prime minister. “I had hoped you would take this course sooner, on your own volition. But as it has become clear that you still intend to stay, I cannot continue to serve in your administration.” Freeman, the minister for science, research and innovation, wrote: “Enough is enough. This can’t go on. The chaos in No 10, the breakdown of cabinet collective responsibility, the abandonment of the ministerial code, the defence of impropriety and defiance of parliament are all insults to the Conservatism I believe in and stand for.”
Philp said he could no longer serve in government because of the importance of “integrity, honesty and trust in politics”. As minister for technology and the digital economy, he had been leading the gambling review and called for it to be delivered “in full and undiluted”. He was one of several resigning ministers who pointed out the urgent unresolved business in their departments. Cartlidge said he had initially “felt duty bound to remain in post” because of the “challenging circumstances facing the criminal courts”, but that this position was “clearly untenable”. The MP for South Suffolk said it was obvious it was “no longer even remotely possible” to give Johnson a chance and put aside his previous transgressions.
Lewis told the prime minister he was submitting his resignation with regret but said a divided Conservative party could not win elections. The Northern Ireland secretary, who took over the role in early 2020, told Johnson the government had taken “huge strides to level up the economy of Northern Ireland and have not shied away from taking other difficult decisions: confronting the practical issues with the Northern Ireland protocol, advocating for the reproductive rights of women and championing the benefits of integrated education for all”. He continued: “A decision to leave government is never taken lightly, particularly at such a critical time for Northern Ireland. I have taken a lot of time to consider this decision, having outlined my position to you at length last night.” Lewis told the prime minister that in recent months the Conservative party had been “relentlessly on the defensive, consumed by introspection and infighting. “A divided party cannot win elections. It cannot deliver for those who trusted us with their votes for the first time in 2019.”
The resignations early on Thursday came hours after the former Johnson ally Suella Braverman, the attorney general, also publicly urged him to go. Johnson rejected calls to quit on Wednesday and dramatically sacked his cabinet rival Michael Gove. He was later hit with the departure of a third cabinet minister – the Welsh secretary, Simon Hart.
Johnson met ministers in No 10 on Wednesday, where he was told he had lost the confidence of the Tory party and should not continue in office – but refused to listen. Gove is thought to have told him on Wednesday morning that it was time for him to quit. That was followed by a delegation of cabinet ministers going to Downing Street to tell Johnson he should stand down after losing the trust of his MPs. They were reported to have included the home secretary, Priti Patel, the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, Lewis and Hart. Allies including the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, and the Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, remained supportive of the prime minister.