Four senior aides to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson have resigned from Downing Street within hours amid growing pressure on the Prime Minister.
Policy Chief, Munira Mirza left over what she said was a “scurrilous” attack by the PM on Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.
Three staff caught up in the lockdown parties saga, including Martin Reynolds, has also quit, after sending out a “bring your own booze” invitation
It came as the PM faces more questions over his leadership from his party attendance.
Director of Communications, Jack Doyle confirmed his exit shortly after the departure of Ms Mirza.
Mr Doyle told staff that “recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life”, and that he had always intended to leave after two years.
A statement from a No 10 Spokeswoman said Chief of Staff, Dan Rosenfield offered his resignation to the Prime Minister earlier on Thursday, February 3, 2022, but would stay on till his successor was found.
The Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Reynolds, will do the same, but then return to a role at the Foreign Office.
A number of MPs supporting the Prime Minister tweeted praise about Boris Johnson that he was responsible for making necessary staff changes following a damning report by Civil Servant, Sue Gray into breaking COVID-19 lockdown protocols, to attend parties in No 10 Downing Street.
According to Energy Minister, Greg Hands, the resignations comes after Mr Johnson “made it clear there would be a shake-up” at Downing Street.
In an interview with Conservative Backbencher, Huw Merriman, he said many MPs were being loyal to the PM and concentrating on the positives. But he said he was “deeply troubled” by the situation and agreed that the PM should “shape up or ship out”.
Ms Mirza decision to quit is connected to the PM’s false claim that Sir Keir failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was Director of Public Prosecutions, and his refusal to apologise.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak publicly distanced himself from the PM’s original comment, saying: “Being honest, I wouldn’t have said it.”
In responding to a question on whether the Prime Minister should apologise, Sunak said: “That’s for the Prime Minister to decide.”
Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner said: “With [Mr Johnson’s] senior advisers and aides quitting, perhaps it is finally time for him to look in the mirror and consider if he might just be the problem.”
Letters of no confidence
The resignations come following growing backbench unrest within the Conservative Party.
Reports suggest 17 tory MPs have submitted letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister, with 37 of the total 54 needed to trigger a leadership contest.
Many have cited the PM’s participation in parties with staff in No 10 during lockdown as their motivation to challenge Mr Johnson.
These gatherings included a “bring your own booze” garden party in May 2020, according to the email invite sent by Mr Reynolds.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating 12 of the parties and a full report by Ms Gray is expected to be published afterwards.
Who are the Aides who Resigned?
The Head of Policy at No 10, Munira Mirza worked for Boris Johnson for 14 years, even as mayor of London, and is one of his most trusted advisers.
Jack Doyle worked as a Daily Mail journalist before joining Downing Street. He is reported to have attended one of the Christmas gatherings in December 2020, where he thanked staff for their work.
Martin Reynolds is a civil servant and worked as Boris Johnson’s Principal Private Secretary. In that role, he headed up the PM’s private office. He is responsible for sending an email invitations to staff inviting them to socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden in May 2020.
Dan Rosenfield joined Number 10 as Chief of Staff in January 2021 and had worked in the Treasury for Former Chancellors, Alistair Darling and George Osborne.
Other MPs have pointed to the PM’s remark about Sir Keir as one of their reasons for writing a letter. In a debate on the findings of a report into lockdown parties on Monday, January 31, 2022, Mr Johnson accused the Labour leader of spending “most of his time” as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) “prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”, despite having no evidence to back the claim.
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