Thurrock MP takes to floor in Commons with critical words as Boris teeters on the brink following top Tory resignations
EXPECTATION is growing that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have to stand down after two of his most senior ministers quit cabinet this evening as more facts emerged about the Chris Pincher affair.
And borough MP Jackie Doyle-Price has been among the first to criticise her boss after more revelations about his management of the truth.
The Downing Street Office of the Prime Minister had earlier denied the level of knowledge Mr Johnson had about the past record of shamed the shamed Tamworth MP, who has admitted groping men and unacceptable conduct in Parliament while drunk before appointing him to a position in the Conservative Whips' office. He has already been suspended from the Conservative Party and now faces other allegations.
This evening Mr Johnson admitted he had been told about complaints about Mr Pincher in 2019 and made a "bad mistake" by not acting on it.
Within minutes of that admission, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned. Mr Sunak said the public expect "government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously" while Mr Javid told the Prime Minister he can "no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government".
Expectation is now rife that Mr Johnson will finally have to fall on his sword and resign after months of criticism over his conduct, decisions and attempts to avoid blame for 'Partygate' and other government failing.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Doyle-Price, herself a former whip and an ex junior minister, commented the recollections of an ex-civil servant in the Foreign Office, Simon McDonald, who said Boris Johnson had been "briefed in person" about an investigation into Mr Pincher, then a Foreign Office minister.
Ms Doyle-Price told MPs: "The very whiff of rumours and historic incidents that Simon McDonald referred to in his letter should have been enough to tell the prime minister that that appointment wasn't wise, and he could have made use of the honourable gentleman's talents in a different department, as he had done previously."
Calling for a "complete reset" of ministerial standards, she added: "I think we are now on a half a dozen different variations of degrees of honesty with which the knowledge of these events has been addressed by Number 10."
Last month Ms Doyle-Price, ahead of the confidence vote in Mr Johnson, where he survived being deposed by fellow Tory MPs, told Nub News of her disappointment in Mr Johnson, saying:" I am however very disappointed with the leadership culture."
Tonight, that culture may be about to change…..
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