UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson checks his notes at the start of a cabinet meeting in Downing Street on July 5, 2022. /Reuters/Justin Tallis/
A group of Boris Johnson's senior ministers are set to tell him to resign as UK prime minister, according to British media reports, after he insisted he would not quit in the face of a mounting rebellion in his party.
Government resignations are nearing 40 MPs, with some wondering whether there is anyone left to fill the sudden influx of vacancies.
Despite being seemingly fatally wounded, Johnson said he had a mandate from the 2019 election to carry on.
The 58-year-old leader's grip on power appears to be slipping following ten short minutes on Tuesday night when Rishi Sunak resigned as finance minister and Sajid Javid quit as health secretary.
Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has dogged Johnson for months, including lockdown lawbreaking in Downing Street.
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In parliament's weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions - dubbed PMQs - MPs from all sides attacked Johnson.
But brushing off calls to resign, he told MPs: "Frankly, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you have been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that's what I'm going to do."
After the session, Javid urged other ministers to resign. "The problem starts at the top, and I believe that is not going to change," he said.
"And that means that it is for those of us in that position - who have responsibility - to make that change."
Cries of "bye, Boris" echoed around the chamber at the end of his speech.
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Double resignation
Sunak and Javid's departure triggered an avalanche of junior ministers and aides resignations. Five junior ministers quit in a joint letter within two hours of PMQs ending.
Sunak and Javid quit just minutes after Johnson apologized for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit his post last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men.
Former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was immediately handed the finance brief and acknowledged the uphill task ahead.
"You don't go into this job to have an easy life," Zahawi told Sky News.
Days of shifting explanations had followed the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.
Sajid Javid (L) and Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening./Leon Neal/Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Downing Street initially denied Johnson knew of prior allegations against Pincher when appointing him in February.
But by Tuesday, that defense had collapsed after a former top civil servant said Johnson, as foreign minister, was told in 2019 about another incident involving his ally.
Minister for children and families Will Quince quit early Wednesday, saying he was given inaccurate information before having to defend the government in a round of media interviews on Monday.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, one of Johnson's most strident critics, said the Pincher affair had tipped many over the edge.
"I and a lot of the party now are determined that he will be gone by the summer recess" starting on July 22, he told Sky News.
Other senior cabinet ministers, including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, still back Johnson.
But as the resignations piled up, many were wondering how long that may last.
A snap Savanta ComRes poll Wednesday indicated that three in five Conservative voters say Johnson cannot regain the public's trust, while 72 percent think he should resign.
Cover photo: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the weekly question time session, in Parliament: Screen grab taken from video via Reuters.