Harry Fletcher
Feb 04, 2022
Parliament
Well, that was quite a night inside Downing Street, with four of Boris Johnson’s top aides resigning within the space of just a few hours.
The prime minister’s leadership is in further crisis after policy chief Munira Mirza quit, in protest at his “scurrilous” smear linking Sir Keir Starmer with the disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile.
Mirza, who has worked with Johnson for 14 years, said that Johnson had resisted calls to apologise for the remark and said there was “no fair or reasonable basis” for the comments.
It was the first of the four resignations, with Downing Street director of communications, Jack Doyle, also announcing that he was leaving just three hours later.
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Doyle, who insisted his decision was not linked to Mirza’s exit, was followed by the departure of Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
Reynolds, who wrote the email which invited No 10 staff to a “bring your own booze” party during lockdown, was also joined by the prime minister’s chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield.
It's a hugely significant moment for Johnson's tenure as prime minister, although the departures of Doyle and Reynolds appear to be part of a planned clear out of senior Downing Street staff.
Social media users have been given even more ammunition after the news broke – these are the funniest jokes after a remarkable night inside No 10.
Will the last person to leave Downing Street please switch off the disco lights.— Ed Morrish (@Ed Morrish) 1643916634
Very much enjoying BBC2\u2019s new political comedy, Newsnight.— Chris Addison\ud83d\udc99 (@Chris Addison\ud83d\udc99) 1643928381
https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1489342705197068297\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/xwg2E2vI8E— Nooruddean (@Nooruddean) 1643924168
Everyone at Downing Street has quit. Boris Johnson barricades himself inside. Carrie pours prosecco through the letterbox occasionally. Sometimes when it's quiet in Westminster you can hear him fall down the stairs. Nadine Dorries still says he's the best man for the job.— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) 1643918974
It\u2019s overpic.twitter.com/5ruJKnnygX— Gary Neville (@Gary Neville) 1643918809
Great to see the change that @BorisJohnson promised in @10DowningStreet being delivered.— Peter Gibson MP (@Peter Gibson MP) 1643920146
Breaking - Boris Johnson has named the number 10 dog acting Foreign Secretary, and a wooden box painted badly to look like a bus is now Brexit minister.— HappyToast \u2605 (@HappyToast \u2605) 1643921675
Live scenes from Downing St:pic.twitter.com/kUrFfs0JBf— Have I Got News For You (@Have I Got News For You) 1643921741
Of all the recent amids, "Jimmy Savile jibe furore" has to be the least enviable amid— Adam Hurrey (@Adam Hurrey) 1643912419
I'm going to sack everyone to make sure they don't resign.— Parody Boris Johnson (@Parody Boris Johnson) 1643918368
I just can't keep up with all these dead cat resignations. What's next? Larry?— Ian Ford (@Ian Ford) 1643918357
come on Dilyn, resign— Toby Earle (@Toby Earle) 1643918512
Boris out here losing more squad members than Arsenal— Billie \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 (@Billie \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9) 1643918062
THERE'S BEEN A RESIGNATION AT NO. 10, BUT WHO IS IT CHRIS KAMARA?pic.twitter.com/l0T5wtH3N3— Graeme Demianyk (@Graeme Demianyk) 1643913976
Number 10 resignations are like buses, you wait ages for one, and then\u2026— Darren Grimes (@Darren Grimes) 1643916743
Is this how Operation Save Big Dog is supposed to go?— Joel Taylor (@Joel Taylor) 1643913918
Can the last person to leave Number 10 turn the lights out?— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@ALASTAIR CAMPBELL) 1643913776
Number 10 needs a leavers do for all these people— ALEX BLAND \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@ALEX BLAND \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1643915367
\u201cI quit; everyone else is resigning and I don\u2019t want to get stuck here with just Boris Johnson\u201dpic.twitter.com/3B8Ew2ops1— Larry the Cat (@Larry the Cat) 1643914620
Looks like there\u2019s going to be several big leaving parties at Number 10 tonight.— Armando Iannucci (@Armando Iannucci) 1643913075
Number 10 should be briefing journalists that this is Johnson being strong and clearing people out.\n\nUnfortunately, there is nobody left to brief them.— Alex Andreou (@Alex Andreou) 1643919901
If you listen very carefully, you can hear ABBA's SOS coming from Number 10 Downing Street this evening.— Siobhan Benita (@Siobhan Benita) 1643926970
Dominic Cummings also had a few words to say after the mass resignations, calling Mirza’s departure “an unmistakeable signal the bunker is collapsing and this PM is finished”.
It comes after Rishi Sunak distanced himself from the PM’s Savile comments on Thursday, telling reporters: “Being honest, I wouldn’t have said it.”
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