LONDON — An exodus of senior officers from 10 Downing Road on Thursday deepened the disaster engulfing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he fought to carry on to energy within the wake of a scandal over get-togethers that breached lockdown restrictions.
Mr. Johnson’s chief of workers, non-public secretary, communications chief, and head of coverage all resigned, leaving the highest of British authorities rudderless at a time when Mr. Johnson is struggling to avert a mutiny within the ranks of his Conservative Celebration. A couple of dozen get together lawmakers have referred to as publicly for a no-confidence vote within the prime minister.
Among the departures fulfilled Mr. Johnson’s promise to overtake the Downing Road operation, following the discharge of a authorities report on Monday that criticized the workplace for “extreme” office ingesting, citing 16 social gatherings — a few of them now beneath police investigation — during times when England was beneath strict lockdowns.
However the resignation of his coverage chief, Munira Mirza, carried an additional sting. One in every of his longest-serving and most influential aides, Ms. Mirza despatched the prime minister a sharply crucial letter wherein she stated he made a “scurrilous accusation” in opposition to the chief of the opposition Labour Celebration, Keir Starmer.
That referred to claims Mr. Johnson had made in Parliament on Monday, linking Mr. Starmer, who’s a former chief public prosecutor, to a failure to deliver expenses in opposition to Jimmy Savile, a preferred tv persona who died in 2011, having by no means been tried for a string of intercourse offenses that later got here to gentle.
Mr. Starmer was not concerned within the case and later ordered an inquiry into the failure of his division to take motion. Following the alternate in Parliament on Monday, Mr. Johnson modified his feedback, however Ms. Mirza stated that the prime minister’s clarification, made on Thursday, fell wanting a full apology.
“Even now,” she wrote, “I hope you discover it in your self to apologize for a grave error of judgment made beneath large strain.”
Mr. Johnson’s declare additionally drew criticism from the chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, whose phrases are being intently scrutinized as a result of he’s considered as a possible candidate to interchange Mr. Johnson as Conservative chief and prime minister if he’s ousted.
“Being sincere, I wouldn’t have stated it, and I’m glad that the prime minister clarified what he meant,” Mr. Sunak stated at a information convention the place he introduced plans to attempt to cushion the blow of steep will increase in family power payments.
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The departures of the chief of workers, Dan Rosenfeld, and the principal non-public secretary, Martin Reynolds, weren’t as sudden as Ms. Mirza’s. Critics have faulted Mr. Rosenfeld for his administration of Downing Road, whereas Mr. Reynolds despatched an e mail inviting practically 100 workers members to a B.Y.O.B. backyard get together at a time when the federal government’s personal lockdown guidelines prohibited individuals from gathering with multiple particular person outdoors their households.
The departure of the communications director, Jack Doyle, was additionally much less of a shock, as his identify was linked with a few of the events now beneath investigation by the police. Critics additionally faulted him for Downing Road’s steadfast unique denials that such gatherings befell and for its insistence that each one the Covid guidelines had been complied with.
Nonetheless, the timing of Mr. Doyle’s resignation was unlucky for Mr. Johnson, heightening the sense of a political unraveling. But for all of the disarray inside Downing Road, the departures could not have a sensible impact on Mr. Johnson’s grip on his job.
He can solely be compelled out if 54 Conservative lawmakers submit letters calling for a no-confidence vote, after which in that vote, a majority of Tory lawmakers in Parliament solid a poll in opposition to him. The letters are confidential, and the quantity submitted stays a intently guarded secret.
However on Wednesday, three extra Conservative lawmakers overtly referred to as on the prime minister to step down, bringing the whole who’ve gone public to round a dozen.