Another Boris Johnson employee has resigned. After four of his employees had already resigned on Thursday, the British prime minister seems to be losing more and more support.
British media are talking about the ‘meltdown in Downing Street’ and are increasingly wondering whether Johnson can stay on.
How long will Boris Johnson last? That is the question on the minds of the British today. ‘Partygate’, the scandal surrounding the parties that Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended in full lockdown in (the garden of) his official residence, is increasing in proportion.
Four Johnson employees have already resigned on Thursday. These are chief of policy and political adviser Munira Mirza, communications director Jack Doyle, chief of staff Dan Rosenfeld and first private secretary Martin Reynolds. For Mirza, Johnson’s statements about the Social Democratic opposition leader Keir Starmer would have been the last straw.
In a debate in parliament, the prime minister had accused his rival Starmer of letting the notorious BBC presenter and sex criminal Jimmy Savile walk away in his position at the judiciary.
Johnson immediately garnered strong criticism with his swipe from his own circle. His behaviour has been compared to that of former US President Donald Trump. However, it has long been clear that as chief of prosecutors, Starmer was not involved in not prosecuting Savile, who died in 2011. The other layoffs would also be part of the ‘party gate’ scandal.
According to British media, one more was added on Friday, and Elena Nazoranski, a special adviser to the prime minister on women and equal opportunities, has resigned. That has not yet been officially confirmed, but there is no doubt about the truthfulness of the news. And so Johnson has lost another important employee. Many British media wonder how long this can continue and whether Johnson can remain prime minister.