Wednesday 6 July 2022 01:09 PM Sajid Javid delivers vicious parting shot at Boris Johnson trends now

Sajid Javid today delivered a vicious parting shot at Boris Johnson saying the 'team is only as good as the team captain'.

In a personal statement to the Commons immediately after PMQs, watched in silence by Mr Johnson, the former health secretary said that maintaining 'honesty and integrity matters.

He said he had spent many months giving Mr Johnson the 'benefit of the doubt', but insisted there was a point when 'enough is enough'.

Saying that ministers had been repeatedly send out to defend lines that 'don't hold up', Mr Javid made clear the Chris Pincher crisis had been the final straw.

'This week again, we have reason to question the truth and integrity of what we've all been told. And at some point we have to conclude that enough is enough,' he said.

'I believe that point is now.'

The intervention evoked memories of Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech in 1990 which helped topple Margaret Thatcher. In a tiny bright point for the premier, Rishi Sunak is not planning on making a similar statement.

It came minutes after Mr Johnson faced a barrage of criticism as he desperately tries to cling on despite a swathe more ministers resigning and even loyalists turning on him.

Mr Johnson received jeers and cheers as he took to his feet in the chamber with his prospects of survival looking increasingly slim, but joked that it is a 'big day' because the government is implementing 'the biggest tax cut in a decade'. 

Flanked by a stony-faced Dominic Raab and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Mr Johnson fended off a series of attacks from Keir Starmer saying Europe was enduring the 'biggest war in 80 years' and he was getting on with the job. 

The premier was visibly angry when Tory MP Tim Loughton stood up and demanded to know if there are 'any circumstances' under which he would quit.

He snapped that he had been given a 'colossal mandate' and would 'hang on in there' to 'win another general election', adding: 'The job of a PM... is to keep going! And that's what I'm going to do.' 

But prisons minister Victoria Atkins, City minister John Glen, schools minister Robin Walker, and children's minister Will Quince all turned the screw by walking out just before the PMQs session. 

And even as he spoke Environment minister Jo Churchill was tweeting that she had quit. 

Ms Atkins laid into the government's 'fracture values', while Mr Glen said he had a 'complete lack of confidence' in the premier and Mr Walker slammed 'mistakes and questions about integrity'. 

Mr Zahawi was in the middle of an interview on the BBC's flagship Today programme this morning when he was informed that Mr Quince had joined the exodus, slamming No10's 'inaccurate' claims about the Chris Pincher allegations.

Asked whether it meant Mr Johnson is 'over', a sombre-looking Mr Zahawi responded: 'I am deeply sorry to see colleagues leave government.' 

More junior aides have also been voting with their feet as the challenge to the PM gathers pace. After running the gauntlet of PMQs at noon he will endure a three-hour grilling from the powerful Liaison Committee - including some of his fiercest critics. 

Mutinous Tories are urging the chair of the backbench 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, to step in and tell the premier his time is up. It meets this afternoon and they are vowing to change the party's rules so he can be ousted if he tries to carry on.

Mr Quince tweeted: '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.' 

Senior backbenchers Robert Halfon and Chris Skidmore, as well as Red Wall MP Lee Anderson have also broken cover to say they have lost confidence in Mr Johnson.  

But despite fears of massive damage to the Conservative brand Mr Johnson is showing no signs of conceding, apparently responding 'f*** that' when asked by aides about the possibility. 

He told a meeting of Tory MPs last night that he wants to get on with cutting taxes, suggesting it had been Mr Sunak holding him back on the issue.

And the Mail+ revealed Mr Johnson has told friends people need to 'stop bickering'.  

'I'm not going anywhere,' he said. 'I'm going to smash on and deliver for the people who gave us a massive mandate.'

Mr Zahawi - installed within hours of the resignations last night as the PM attempted to steady the ship - was sent out to broadcast studios to show support this morning. 

He denied that he had threatened to quit in order to be handed the coveted No11 post, and asked if he wanted to take over from Mr Johnson he replied: 'There is no vacancy.' 

He told Sky News: 'You don't go into this job for an easy life, sometimes it's easy to walk away, but it's important to deliver for the country.'

The PM has been dubbed the 'Greased Piglet' for his ability to escape seemingly terminal political situations, but even former allies fear he might be cornered this time.

In more signs of support ebbing away, Laura Trott has quit as a ministerial aide. 

A Government source insisted that Mr Zahawi - promoted from Education Secretary in the chaos following the double-resignation - is the 'adventurous and buccaneering chancellor Britain needs'.

And Mr Johnson himself delivered another swipe at Mr Sunak, claiming he had been a block on easing the tax burden.

He told a hastily-convened meeting of Tory MPs last night: 'I know you're all avidly in favour of tax cuts and tonight's events might make that a bit easier to deliver.' 

The Government source said Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has long coveted No11, was doing a 'fabulous job' but was 'too critical to move' given the crisis in Ukraine and the Northern Ireland Protocol row.

The PM appointed his chief of staff Steve Barclay to replace Mr Javid as Health Secretary. 

Universities minister Michelle Donelan was promoted to Cabinet to replace Mr Zahawi.

The departure of two such senior ministers triggered speculation that the PM might face a mass walkout. Mr Javid said the public expected integrity and competence and warned Mr Johnson that voters were 'concluding that we are now neither'.

Mr Sunak hinted at differences over tax and spending and said the public had a right to expect the Government to conduct itself 'properly, competently and seriously'.

At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the PM's top team were pictured looking grim-faced at the latest crisis to engulf the Government.

One minister told the Mail: 'You've seen the pictures haven't you? It was a case of 'where are the cyanide pills?'' But a string of senior figures quickly confirmed they would be staying, giving Mr Johnson a glimmer of hope that he could survive. 

Andrew Mitchell, a former chief whip, compared Boris Johnson with Rasputin.

'It's a bit like the death of Rasputin. He's been poisoned, stabbed, he's been shot, his body's been dumped in the freezing river and still he lives,' the Conservative MP told BBC Newsnight.

He was adamant that it was 'over' for the Prime Minister.

'This is an abnormal Prime Minister - brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character, but I'm afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister.'

It came after the release of a damaging letter by Lord McDonald of Salford which gave critics of Mr Johnson further ammunition over his appointment of alleged groper Chris Pincher to the whips office.

In his resignation letter, Mr Sunak warned that 'we cannot continue like this' and he was ready to sacrifice his political career.

'The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,' he wrote.

Meanwhile, Mr Javid questioned Mr Johnson's integrity, competence and ability to act in the national interest. 

In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Zahawi was pressed on whether he wants to be leader after Mr Johnson.

'There is no vacancy,' he said.

He added: 'First of all, I will be working very hard to make sure that this team continues to deliver. The Prime Minister is focused on delivery, delivery, delivery.'

Pressed on whether his reason for taking the job was to do with personal ambition, he said: 'No, as I said to you, sometimes walking away may give you some respite, dare I say, but the idea that you have to deliver for the country, I think, is the right thing to do.'

On Mr Quince's resignation, Mr Zahawi told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'He felt let down, clearly. All I would say to my colleagues is people don't vote for divided teams.' 

Mr Zahawi said he is going to 'look at everything' when asked about his tax plans.

The new Chancellor said 'nothing's off the table' when pressed on his vision for corporation tax.

Asked what immediate plans he had made with the Prime Minister when it came to cutting taxes and tackling inflation, he told Sky News: 'As my first day in the job, the conversation we had is my task is to rebuild the economy and to grow the economy.

'I will look at everything to make sure that we continue to be on the side of people.'

Pressed on his plans for corporation tax specifically, he said: 'I will look at everything. There's nothing off the table. I want to be one of the most competitive countries in the world for investment.

'I know that boards around the world, when they make investment decisions, they're long-term, and the one tax they can compare globally is corporation tax. I want to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be whilst maintaining fiscal discipline.'

The exits of Mr Sunak and Mr Javid - which aides of both men claim were not coordinated - came despite Mr Johnson frantically trying to head off the crisis with a grovelling apology over his appointment of shamed MP Mr Pincher as deputy chief whip.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, trade minister Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak are the bookies' favourites if there is a leadership contest.

Ms Atkins said: 'It is with sadness and regret that I resign as Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice.

'Values such as integrity, decency, respect and professionalism should matter to us all. I have watched with growing concern as those values have fractured under your leadership, through Paterson, partygate and Pincher. I have given you the benefit of the doubt at each turn, out of loyalty to you as Prime Minister and to our great party.

'The events of this week, however, have made these contortions impossible. The casual mistreatment of Minister Will Quince and the revelations contained in Lord McDonald's letter highlight just how far your government has fallen from these ideals. I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values. We can and must be better than this.

'This is at a time when our constituents face grave cost-of-living pressures not experienced for decades. These challenges demand resolute focus and we must take the country with us. We cannot provide that focus at present.

'It has been my pleasure and privilege to serve as a minister. I am proud to have led the landmark Domestic Abuse Act through Parliament which will help millions of victims in the coming years; to support prison officers and staff who protect the public each day; and to implement much-needed reforms in the criminal justice system for rape and vulnerable victims through the Rape Review and the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.'

Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons justice committee, told Times Radio that Johnson's position was 'untenable' but 'he may well seek to cling on' and said he will do damage to the Tories for as long as he does so.

The 1922 committee, which sets rules for the parliamentary party, is expected to announce today that it will hold elections for executive positions next Wednesday.

Supporters and opponents of Mr Johnson will battle for the places so they can influence whether he faces another confidence vote, which could happen almost immediately. 

The PM last month survived a ballot by a margin of 211 to 148 and has a 12-month grace period before another challenge. 

But since then there has been a fresh bout of crisis, with disastrous defeats in the Tiverton and Wakefield by-elections, and his critics are plotting to change the rules to enable another vote before the summer recess.

Tory rebels yesterday revealed they were submitting letters of no confidence to Sir Graham so there can be an immediate confidence vote – if the rules are changed.

If the 12-month grace period is removed, a leadership challenge will take place if 54 of the party's 358 MPs put in letters. Mr Johnson's critics would then need more than half of the party's MPs to back removing him in a subsequent confidence vote.

If the leader fails to get a majority, he or she resigns and cannot stand in the contest.

A snap YouGov poll last night found seven in 10 Brits believe Mr Johnson should resign, while a majority who voted Conservative in 2019 also want him gone. 

Ben Wallace has been consistently the most popular potential leadership contender in regular surveys by the ConservativeHome website.

In the latest poll this week, 15.8 per cent said the Defence Secretary should lead the party, just ahead of Penny Mordaunt on 15.5 per cent and Liz Truss on 13.9 per cent.

Tom Tugendhat, who is chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, was backed by 7 per cent of members, with Mr Zahawi on 6.6 per cent and former leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt on 6.4 per cent.

Although the poll is not entirely scientific, it is closely watched by MPs and ministers. 

Leadership contenders need two nominations from colleagues to put themselves forward.

A series of votes would be held among the party's MPs to determine which two candidates end up on the ballot paper.

In the last contest in 2019, 66 per cent of members chose Mr Johnson over Mr Hunt.

Mr Johnson's immediate survival chances were boosted by senior figures including Dominic Raab, Liz Truss, Priti Patel, Ben Wallace and Therese Coffey declaring they will not be resigning. 

Notably Michael Gove, who notoriously stabbed Mr Johnson in the back to end his leadership hopes in 2016, does not appear to be jumping ship.

However, the losses in the middle ranks are starting to rack up significantly.

Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk quit as Solicitor General saying he could not 'defend the indefensible'.

Tory vice-chair Bim Afolami announced his exit live on TV last night, while former loyalist Jonathan Gullis, Saqib Bhatti, Nicola Richards and Virginia Crosbie stepped down from PPS roles.

Theo Clarke and Andrew Murrison also left as trade envoys to Kenya and Morocco respectively. 

Lord Frost, previously Mr Johnson's key Brexit minister, said Mr Sunak and Mr Javid had done the 'right thing' and the premier could not change. 

Even Cabinet ministers staying in place sounded a gloomy tone privately, with one telling MailOnline yesterday that some of their closest colleagues had 'run out of sympathy with the PM'.