In parting blow, Javid attacks PM’s leadership style

Former British minister Sajid Javid delivered a withering attack on Boris Johnson’s leadership on Wednesday, telling him and his fellow lawmakers in their ruling Conservative Party that it was time for the prime minister to resign.

Javid stepped down as health minister on Tuesday, the first of a flurry of resignations of ministers who said they had lost confidence in Johnson and that he was not fit to govern.

Considered a possible contender to replace Johnson should he quit or be forced out, Javid listed a series of scandals that had embroiled the prime minister and his office in recent months, including the breaking of coronavirus lockdown rules, over which he had given Johnson the benefit of the doubt.

Also read: Cornered Boris on the brink as cabinet loses trust in PM

“At some point, we have to conclude that enough is enough. I believe that point is now,” he told parliament as lawmakers sat in silence and Johnson listened expressionless.

“I have concluded that the problem starts at the top and I believe that is not going to change. And that means that it is for those of us in a position who have responsibility to make that change.”

Just minutes earlier, an ebullient Johnson had vowed to fight on, telling his glum-faced lawmakers that he remained a vote winner.

‘Not fair on Tories’

Javid said it had not been fair to send government ministers out to defend Johnson in the media in recent months over various scandals, using lines from the prime minister’s Downing Street office “that don’t stand up and don’t hold up”.

“It’s not fair on Conservative members and voters who rightly expect better standards from the party they supported,” he added.

It was the second time Javid has left government. He quit as finance minister in 2020 after refusing to fire his political advisers as demanded by Johnson. He returned in the following year as health minister.

We cannot continue like this, says Sunak in letter.

Also read: Boris Johnson and the longest goodbye

British finance minister Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday, saying he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that “we cannot continue like this”.

“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,” he said on Twitter.

In his resignation letter to the prime minister, also posted on his Twitter account, 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.

“I am sad to be leaving Government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this,” Sunak finished before signing off his letter.