Rishi Sunak

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and the Secretary of State for Health, Sajid Javid, have resigned from Boris Johnson's government.

I have served as your Chancellor with gratitude that you entrusted me with stewardship of the nation's economy and finances. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are neither. We may not always have been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. Given the unprecedented scale of the challenges in health and social care, it has been my instinct to continue focusing on this important work. We have also made important strides in the recovery and reform of the NHS and adult social care. I have given every ounce of energy to this task, and am incredibly proud of what we have achieved.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Health Secretary told Boris Johnson that the British people 'rightly expect integrity from their Government'

“Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it’s not true. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do. “I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. As well as the Foreign Office complaint, Mr Johnson was also informed about another allegation against Mr Pincher at the time of the reshuffle when he was made deputy chief whip in February 2022, although this claim was “not taken forward”, according to No 10. The admission that Mr Johnson forgot about the earlier complaint came after the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, Lord McDonald, said the original No 10 account was “not true” and the Prime Minister had been briefed “in person”. The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.

Health secretary and chancellor resign in what appears to be coordinated move.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said: “If they [ministers] had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago. The resignations of Javid and Sunak, both considered potential future leadership contenders, came at a moment of significant danger for the prime minister. He added: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. It will increase speculation that he has not given up on a run at the premiership. “What I wanted was to give Chris Pincher, if not the benefit of the doubt, then the ability to prove that he could do better. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither.”

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

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British Health Secretary Sajid Javid and British Chancellor Rishi Sunak have resigned from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government.

"It is now clear [he] knew about the seriousness of these complaints but decided to promote this man to a senior position in government anyway. It's not what you would want to see from anyone in public life." To characterise the allegations as 'unsubstantiated' is therefore wrong." Mr Johnson was informed of the outcome, he said. There was a 'formal complaint'," he wrote. Downing Street initially claimed that Mr Johnson had not been aware of any "specific allegations" against Mr Pincher at the time of the February reshuffle.

Prime Minister,. It was a privilege to have been asked to come back into Government to serve as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care at such a critical ...

That is why I have always tried to compromise in order to deliver the things you want to achieve. I have served as your Chancellor with gratitude that you entrusted me with stewardship of the nation’s economy and finances. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. Given the unprecedented scale of the challenges in health and social care, it has been my instinct to continue focusing on this important work. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The longest waiters are down by 70% and, as you know, I have been working hard on wider modernisation of the NHS.