UK’s Boris Johnson clinging to power as resignations pile up
- Boris Johnson defied pressure to quit from senior ministers amid a mounting rebellion within his ruling Conservative Party
- Embattled UK prime minister dramatically sacked cabinet rival Michael Gove as government suffered an avalanche of resignations
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was clinging to power Thursday, having defiantly responded to calls from his loyalists to step down by sacking a minister and former top ally.
More than 40 ministers and aides, including four cabinet members, have quit the government since late Tuesday, with resignations continuing to trickle in overnight.
The Conservative leader was confronted at various points on Wednesday by members of his cabinet telling him it was time to go, local media said.
His reaction was to fire Communities Secretary Michael Gove, reportedly the first to tell him that he must resign for the good of the Tory party and country, with a source close to Johnson telling the BBC that Gove was “a snake”.
Gove was Johnson’s right-hand man in Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum campaign, but dramatically chose to run against him for the Conservative leadership that same year, and again in 2019.
The Sun newspaper said Johnson had told colleagues they would have to “dip (their) hands in blood” to push him out of office.