'WITH REGRET'
Tory vice chair RESIGNS live on TalkTV as pressure piles on embattled Boris Johnson
TORY vice chair Bim Afolami quit live on TV tonight as Boris Johnson faces the biggest leadership crisis of his premiership.
The MP for Hitchin and Harpenden backed calls for the PM to stand down after Rishi Sunak sensationally quit as chancellor and Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary.
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Speaking to TalkTV after the resignations of the two senior Cabinet members, Mr Afolami said he too would have to step down from his position.
The MP said: "After recent allegations about the former deputy chief whip and other things that have happened over recent weeks, I just don't think the Prime Minister any longer has, not just my support, but he doesn't have, I don't think, the support of the party, or indeed the country any more.
"I think for that reason he should step down."
Mr Afolami said he was "probably not" the party's vice chairman "after having said that".
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Confirming he would be resigning, he continued: "I think you have to resign because I can't serve under the Prime Minister - but I say that with regret because I think this Government has done some great things.
"I think it's become clear, particularly after losing the support of two of his closest Cabinet colleagues, that the time has come for him to stand down."
Mr Sunak and Mr Javid dramatically quit as the PM reels from the fallout of the Chris Pincher scandal.
Their resignations came just minutes after Mr Johnson gave a grovelling apology for appointing the shamed MP to a top job.
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Downing Street was today forced to admit Mr Johnson was aware of complaints against Pincher when he made him deputy chief whip.
In his resignation letter, Mr Sunak said: "The public rightly expects government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.
“I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”
Mr Sunak added that it was time for the public to "hear the truth".
Meanwhile, Mr Javid demanded the PM throw in the towel for the good of the Conservative Party - and the country.
He said: "The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and new direction.
"I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership - and you have therefore lost my confidence too."
A string of other Cabinet Ministers quickly confirmed they were sticking by the PM, who has fought multiple woes this past year.
And four PPS's - MPs serving in the lowest rung of government - have also stepped down from their posts tonight.
Mr Javid's right hand man and Tory rising star Saqib Bhatti said that "recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life".
And Jonathan Gullis, who served as a PPS to Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, said "for far too long we have been more focused on dealing with our reputational damage than delivering for the people of this country".
Nicola Richards, who served as PPS to the Department of Transport, also stepped down, saying the Conservative Party "is currently unrecognisable to me".
Ynys Mon MP Virginia Crosbie has also resigned as PPS to the Wales Office, writing "I have no idea what is happening at Downing Street but it appears you are badly advised" in a letter to the PM.
Theo Clark, MP for Stafford, who has also quit her post as the PM's Trade Envoy to Kenya, said: "I think that we need to draw a line under the current debacle and get a grip on government on the public's behalf, as well as, most importantly, the country."
MP Alex Chalk also bid farewell to his job as Solicitor General - a senior post one rung down from the Cabinet - saying his confidence in the government has "irretrievably broken down".
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No10 has been consumed in crisis since The Sun revealed Pincher allegedly drunkenly groped two men in a swanky club.
The story saw Pincher resign from the government and sparked a slew of other sordid claims against the disgraced MP.
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