Secretary Quince appeared in the media on Tuesday morning to say that Johnson had been unaware of previous complaints against Pincher when he was appointed. Later in the day it turned out that he had been told at the time. Quince says he has been assured that the Prime Minister knew nothing about the complaints and that he “accepted and reiterated that in good faith”. He now sees no option but to resign.
Quince isn’t the first to step down since the last Johnson riot. On Tuesday, crucial ministers Rishi Sunak (Finance) and Sajid Javid (Health) resigned from their duties. And on Wednesday morning, Laura Trott announced that she too is stepping down. She is a private parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Transport, and was appointed to that position by the Minister. Usually such secretaries are regarded as the eyes and ears of their minister in the House of Commons. “Trust in politics is – and always should be – paramount, but unfortunately it has been lost in recent months,” she said in a statement.
In addition, nine other government officials have resigned. British media call this a crisis and several of Johnson’s party members believe that a new confidence vote should be taken. Before that, the rules would have to be adjusted first, because the prime minister survived such a vote only a month ago. He was then supported by 59 percent of his party members.