Sajid Javid has called on cabinet ministers to consider resigning from Boris Johnson’s government to help oust him as prime minister, saying he quit as UK health secretary after deciding “enough is enough” over issues of truth and credibility. Giving a damning personal statement in the Commons on Wednesday after his resignation on Tuesday evening, Javid made it plain he believed other ministers should follow suit. “I have concluded that the problem starts at the top, and I believe that is not going to change. And that means it is for us who have a position of responsibility to make that change,” Javid said. He said colleagues would have their “own reasons” for remaining in office. “But it is a choice. I know just how difficult that choice is. But let’s be clear: not doing something is an active decision. I am deeply concerned about how the next generation will see the Conservative party on our current course. Our reputation, after 12 years in government, depends on regaining the public’s trust.” Javid, watched by a grim-faced Johnson, said he had not wanted to leave his post and had given the prime minister “the benefit of the doubt” over several issues, not least after being assured that no parties took place in Downing Street during lockdown. “But treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months, and I will never risk losing my integrity,” Javid told MPs. “I also believe a team is as good as its team captain, and that a captain is as good as his or her team. So loyalty must go both ways. The events of recent months have made it increasingly difficult to be in that team. “It’s not fair on ministerial colleagues to go out every morning, defending lines that don’t stand up and don’t hold up. It’s not fair on my parliamentary colleagues who bear the brunt of constituents’ dismay in their inboxes and on their doorsteps in recent elections.” Being let down over issues such as the parties had given “reason to question the truth and integrity of what we’ve all been told”, Javid said. “At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough. I believe that point is now.”
While saying he welcomed Johnson’s decision to apologise for appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip despite the MP having apologised previously for sexual misconduct, Javid said he did not believe the No 10 operation could change. “I do fear that the reset button can only work so many times,” he said. “There’s only so many times you can turn that machine on and off before you realise that something is fundamentally wrong.”