Now Gove 'tells Boris Johnson to quit' as five Tories sign resignation letters at once

6 July 2022, 14:54 | Updated: 6 July 2022, 15:44

Cabinet minister Michael Gove has reportedly told the Prime Minister he must step down.

The Daily Mail reported that the Levelling Up Secretary delivered the message at a meeting on Wednesday morning, citing sources.

The newspaper said a spokesman for Mr Gove did not dispute this.

Levelling Up Secretary Mr Gove was not present in the Commons as the Prime Minister took a battering during PMQs.

Mr Gove initially backed Mr Johnson in the 2016 Tory leadership race which was ultimately won by Theresa May. Later, though, he decided he was not up to the job and chose to run against him.

Mr Johnson was rocked by further ministerial resignations this afternoon, bringing the total number to 30.

Kemi Badenoch, Neil O'Brien, Alex Burghart, Lee Rowley and Julia Lopez wrote a joint resignation letter in which they called on the PM to step aside "in good faith".

Meanwhile, Mims Davies announced she had quit as employment minister, saying the Tories need a “fresh start”. 

Mr Johnson told MPs at PMQs that he intends to "keep going" despite mounting Tory calls for him to resign.

The PM was facing a grilling in front of the Liaison Committee this afternoon.

Former health secretary Sajid Javid delivered a parting shot at Boris Johnson saying 'enough is enough' in the Commons earlier this afternoon.

In a statement lauded by MP's, he said the 'team is only as good as the team captain'.

Mr Javid told the PM 'enough is enough' in a personal statement to the Commons immediately after PMQs.

He said that maintaining 'honesty and integrity matters' in government, and he was no longer able to give Mr Johnson the 'benefit of the doubt'.

Sajid Javid delivers resignation statement to House of Commons

The former Health Secretary was the first MP to resign from government following the Prime Minister's grovelling apology for hiring Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip, despite knowing of an investigation into his conduct.

Mr Javid was closely followed by then Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and a swarm of junior ministers, with over 20 resignations from Tory MPs in less than 24 hours in a mass exodus from government.

Mr Johnson has since appointed Nadhim Zahawi as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Steve Barclay as Health Secretary.

In his resignation speech on Wednesday, Mr Javid told MPs he is "instinctively a team player" but told the Commons: "Treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months.

"I will never risk losing my integrity.

"I also believe a team is as good as its team captain and 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."

He added it is "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 the doorsteps in recent elections," he said.