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Topics: Boris Johnson, Politics
Emily Brown
Boris Johnson has officially made history by losing more government ministers in one day than any other prime minister.
The exodus of ministers began yesterday (5 July), after Chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid announced their resignations from the government.
In the 24 hours that followed, more ministers resigned than the number who quit throughout David Cameron and Gordon Brown's time as leaders of the country. Over the course of Brown's nearly three years in power he lost 13 ministers, while Cameron lost the same amount in his more than six years as PM.
With Johnson in charge, a total of 15 ministers handed in their resignations after Sunak and Javid announced their decisions yesterday, with 12 of those taking place today alone.
At the time of writing, 6 July, the ministers who have resigned include Will Quince, Robin Walker, Victoria Atkins, John Glen, Jo Churchill, Stuart Andrew, Mims Davies, Kemi Badenoch, Julia Lopez, Lee Rowley, Neil O'Brien, Alex Burghart, Rachel Maclean, Mike Freer and Alex Chalk.
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The resignations resulted in a new record of ministers quitting after the previous high was set in September 1932, when 11 ministers quit in one day, Sky News reports. As well as the ministers, Johnson has also lost a number of international trade envoys and parliamentary private secretaries.
The resignations come amid a series of calls for Johnson to step down as prime minister, with a number of other members of the Conservative party making clear they do not have confidence in him as a leader.
Should Johnson adhere to the calls and resign in the next couple of weeks, he would become the fourth-shortest serving leader since the Second World War. If he remains in power for around a month longer, he will surpass the amount of time Theresa May spent in office.
These most recent calls for Johnson to leave his role of prime minister have come as a result of his hiring and handling of Chris Pincher, the former deputy chief whip who resigned after last week being accused of groping two men.
Yesterday, it was confirmed Johnson had been told about an investigation into Pincher's behaviour in 2019, but a spokesperson for 10 Downing Street said he stood by his decision to appoint Pincher in February 2022.
The PM said 'in hindsight' hiring Pincher was 'the wrong thing to do', and said he was sorry to 'everybody who has been badly affected'.
Javid announced his resignation just minutes after Johnson spoke on the matter.
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