The UK Government’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, resigned on Thursday. This puts more pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He is the fourth cabinet member to resign – a minister fired by Johnson.
Pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to step down from office continues to mount. On Thursday, Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis became the fourth cabinet member to resign. Johnson fired another minister.
Previously, Rishi Sunak had stepped down as Finance Minister, Sajid Javid as Health Secretary and Simon Hart as Minister for Wales. In addition, more than 40 Conservative MPs had resigned from government or Tory parliamentary positions. General Counsel Suella Braverman suggested Johnson’s resignation on live television on Wednesday evening and introduced herself as his successor.
According to media reports, Lewis, who was considered ultra-loyal to Johnson, backed a delegation of cabinet members who called on Johnson to resign on Wednesday evening. The prime minister refused.
Among the Johnson critics is said to have been Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed to his post on Tuesday. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to have also been part of the delegation. The previously ultra-loyal Home Secretary Priti Patel, Economics Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Building and Housing Secretary Michael Gove are also said to have opposed Johnson. Gove was released on Wednesday evening. It was expected that there would be further dismissals or resignations from this group.
