Boris Johnson smirks as he signs resignation letter as Jacob Rees-Mogg says he’d be a ‘brilliant’ PM
BORIS Johnson could hold Theresa May's fate in his hands today - as he weighs up whether or not to launch a leadership challenge.
The smirking ex-Foreign Secretary posed for pictures as he signed his letter of resignation last night, hours after David Davis also quit the Cabinet.
Boris - who's been replaced by Jeremy Hunt - hired photographer Andrew Parsons, who used to work for David Cameron, to capture the moment he formally resigned.
The highly unusual photoshoot is reminiscent of US President Donald Trump, who stages pictures every time he signs a document.
Top Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg last night backed Mr Johnson, saying he would make a “brilliant” Prime Minister.
Mrs May could now face a leadership challenge after some Tory MPs said they would formally request a vote of confidence in her.
Latest updates on Theresa May's political crisis:
- David Davis and Boris Johnson have quit the Cabinet, followed by three junior frontbenchers
- Jeremy Hunt is the new Foreign Secretary and Dominic Raab has been made Brexit Secretary
- Theresa May has vowed to fight any bid by Brexiteerss to force her out of office as two MPs formally demanded a vote of no confidence
- Leave-backing minister Andrea Leadsom called on the rebels to rally round the PM
- Mrs May today summoned her new-look Cabinet and will later hold talks with Angela Merkel
- Tory backbenchers say they have just two weeks to shoot down her controversial Chequers plans
- Donald Trump suggested he backs Boris over the PM - calling the top Brexiteer a "friend"
This morning she appeared safe in the short term as the majority of backbenchers fell short of demanding a change of leadership.
Senior Brexiteers including Liam Fox and Michael Gove also pledged loyalty to her and said they were "absolutely not" going to quit.
But Boris could change all that if he publicly calls for Mrs May to go and puts himself forward as her replacement.
In his resignation letter, Mr Johnson refused to say whether or not he wants Mrs May to continue in office - raising the prospect that he could seek to topple her as soon as this week.
He had previously dismissed her Brexit plan, agreed by ministers at Chequers, as a "big turd".
Mr Johnson is understood to have taken the decision to resign on Saturday morning when he was asked to put his name to a newspaper article backing Mrs May’s Brexit plans.
The reports he told one friend “I can’t put my name to this”, at which point he realised he needed to stand down.
Another unnamed MP told the Daily Mail more Tories were writing to the 1922 Committee to trigger a no confidence motion.
The MP said: “It’s over now. She’s done. It would be good if it were done quickly. I want to know who will be standing against her.
“We need to establish a new government because this offer is indefensible.”
Despite the pressure, the head of the Committee insisted he hadn't received enough requests to trigger a vote of confidence in the party leader.
And Mrs May gave a defiant performance in the Commons minutes after Boris announced he was going, defending her Brexit strategy and vowing to fight on in the face of Tory rebels.
Sources in the government also told how Mrs May would fight any attempt to oust her.
Mr Davis warned yesterday that the PM is pursuing a "dangerous strategy" in Brexit negotiations - but insisted he's not trying to force her out of power.
He announced his resignation just minutes before midnight with a devastating letter warning Mrs May her proposals, agreed last week at Chequers, would leave the UK in "a weak negotiating position" with Brussels.
He was replaced in the Cabinet by Dominic Raab, an arch-Brexiteer and close ally of Michael Gove who is currently serving as Housing Minister.
Boris followed up 15 hours later, after spending a day holed up with aides deciding whether or not to follow the Brexit Secretary's lead.
Downing Street announced last night that Jeremy Hunt, the longest serving Health Secretary in history, would be promoted to replace him at the Foreign Office, while Culture Secretary Matt Hancock moves to Health. Jeremy Wright, previously Attorney General, is the new Culture Secretary.
The PM also carried out moves among the lower ranks, making Boris Johnson’s key ally and ex-deputy London mayor Kit Malthouse the new housing minister.
Prominent Brexiteer Chris Heaton-Harris was promoted out of the whips office to become a junior Brexit minister, replacing Steve Baker who walked out with boss Mr Davis on Sunday.
Who has resigned from Theresa May’s Government?
David Davis
The Brexit Secretary stood down last night two days after the crunch Chequers summit, saying he thought the plan Theresa May had made the Cabinet sign off on was “giving too much away, too easily”, and calling it “a dangerous strategy”.
He said he had to step down as it would be his job for forcing the PM’s proposal through the Commons, adding: "That's not a tenable position for somebody who believes in Brexit."
Steve Baker
Mr Davis’ junior colleague at the Brexit Department, he stood down at the same time as his boss – also due to unhappiness over the Chequers agreement.
The hard-line Eurosceptic warned other MPs not to launch a leadership challenge to the PM by writing letters to Graham Brady.
He said: "There's no question of letters going in, no question of challenges - what we need is a change of policy, not to challenge the Prime Minister.”
Boris Johnson
The Foreign Secretary had not appeared in public since Friday’s Cabinet away-day to discuss the deal they had signed off on, sparking fears he was unhappy with the plan and could resign.
This afternoon No10 said he was leaving his role – which he confirmed in a withering letter to the Prime Minister, saying that under her the Brexit "dream is dying".
He plunged Mrs May further into a leadership crisis, saying she is waving the "white flags" in talks with Brussels.
Chris Green
The Bolton West MP became the fourth Brexiteer to resign, announcing he was standing down as a parliamentary aide to the Department for Transport and saying: "Brexit must mean Brexit."
Conor Burns
A Commons aide to Boris Johnson, he also quit this evening - writing on Twitter: "I want to see the referendum result respected."
Urging unity last night, Mr Hunt said: "My principal job at a time of massive importance for our country is to stand four square behind the Prime Minister so that we can get through an agreement with the European Union based on what was agreed by the Cabinet last week at Chequers.
"This is a time when the world is looking at us as a country, wondering what type of country we are going to be in a post-Brexit world.
"What I want to say to them is Britain is going to be a dependable ally, a country that stands up for the values that matter to the people of this country, and will be a strong, confident voice in the world."
Today the PM’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy warns Mrs May her soft Brexit blueprint “leaves us with a giant democratic deficit” and “puts us at the mercy of European rulemakers”.
In his Sun column he also calls on all ministers to resist any more concessions to Brussels.
Hans-Olaf Henkel, a German MEP and businessman, said the EU should sack its negotiators in order to kickstart Brexit talks after Boris and Mr Davis quit.
He told The Sun: "British officials have in the past been often irritated by actual and perceived arrogance in particular by Brexit spokesman of the European Parliament Verhofstadt and Commissioner Barnier.
"Now that Davis and Johnson are gone in the UK, the European Parliament should also replace Barnier and Verhofstadt to be able to reach an atmosphere of mutual trust!"
Ladbrokes last night cut odds on a General Election this year to just 7/4.
Brussels should compromise with UK after Chequers, Airbus says
AIRBUS has piled pressure on Brussels to relent over its hardline approach to Brexit.
The aircraft giant called on Michel Barnier and EU capitals to pursue a "pragmatic and fair" deal with the UK.
Its boss Tom Enders told business leaders he was more optimistic about an agreement being struck following last week's Chequers breakthrough.
Speaking at the German-British Chambers of Commerce, he said: "The Chequers statement appears to show the Government are going in the right direction.
"We are not shy to request that Brussels and our other home countries are similarly pragmatic and fair.”
Airbus caused uproar last month when bosses warned the company would pull out of Britain in the event of a no deal Brexit.
Ministers furiously accused the manufacturer of making "threats" against the UK and said the warning was “completely inappropriate”.
Mr Enders' intervention will be seen as an attempt to redress the balance and show the company is not taking sides in the negotiations.
Tory grandees warned the rebels against taking on Mrs May - claiming it would do more harm than good.
Ex-leader Michael Howard, a passionate Brexiteer, said: "Perhaps a degree of humility is called for all round, and I do think that it would be extremely foolish and extremely ill-advised for anyone to send in letters to mount a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister.
"I think, and I'm delighted, that good sense seems to be breaking out... I support Theresa May as Prime Minister, I want her to continue as Prime Minister."
Another former party boss, William Hague, added: "Being a romantic on this issue is all very well but is of no practical use to the country. It is an indulgence not a policy.
"The best way forward is to join Gove the realist in saying that the EU needs to respond with flexibility and generosity."
Ex-Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said a leadership vote was "the last thing we need at the moment".
Justice Secretary David Gauke also projected a message of unity - and blasted the rebels for not explaining what solution they'd like to replace the PM's plan.
He told the BBC's Today programme: "If people don’t like this proposal - what is their alternative?"
But ex-minister Priti Patel criticised Mrs May for watering down her promises to the electorate.
She said: "We should be very honest and upfront, and say we are not going to be delivering the Brexit that we had in our manifesto that we were elected on last year."
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