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British ministers Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid resign, plunging UK government into chaos

Officials protest PM Johnson's leadership

Published: Tue 5 Jul 2022, 9:20 PM

Updated: Tue 5 Jul 2022, 11:07 PM

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File. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C), Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid (L) and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Photo: AFP

File. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C), Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid (L) and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Photo: AFP

Britain's finance and health ministers resigned on Tuesday, in what looked to be a final blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had tried to apologise for the latest scandal involving a sexual misconduct complaint over one of his ministers.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced his resignation in a statement, saying he could "no longer continue in good conscience."

Moments later, finance minister Rishi Sunak also announced he was quitting.

He wrote on Twitter: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."

In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Sunak pointed to "immense challenges" that Britain was facing, adding that the people were "ready to hear the truth".

"In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally different," Sunak said in his statement.

The resignations came as Johnson was apologising for what he said was a mistake by not realising that former whip Chris Pincher was unsuitable for a job in government after complaints of sexual misconduct were made against him.

"In hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do. I apologise to everyone who's been badly affected by it," Johnson told broadcasters.

One of the vice-chairs of Britain’s ruling Conservative party, Bim Afolami, has resigned his position, TalkTV political editor Kate McCann said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Following this, two lawmakers from Britain's Conservative Party quit their junior-ranking government posts on Tuesday in protest at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership.

Parliamentary private secretaries Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti posted resignation letters on social media.

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