Sir Keir Starmer has backed a snap election and called for a ‘fresh start’ in Government.
Asked if he would support an election if one were called in the next few weeks, Sir Keir said: ‘Yes. We need a fresh start for Britain.
‘We need a change of government.’
Sir Keir said it was ‘clear that this government is now collapsing” and claimed the senior ministers who have quit have been ‘complicit’ in what he described as a ‘corrupted’ Tory party.
As the prime minister was hit by the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, the Labour leader described Mr Johnson as having ‘disgraced his office’.
Sir Keir said in a statement: ‘After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, it’s clear that this government is now collapsing. Tory cabinet ministers have known all along who this prime minister is.
‘They have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga:
– backing him when he broke the law
– backing him when he lied repeatedly
– backing him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people.
‘In doing so, they have been complicit every step of the way as he has disgraced his office and let down his country. If they had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago.
‘The British public will not be fooled. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man won’t fix that.
‘Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs.’
Mr Johnson’s leadership has been rocked by the resignations of the chancellor and health secretary.
Their departures follow an escalating series of scandals and sleaze allegations in recent week.
Mr Sunak stepped down saying ‘the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously’.
It followed Mr Javid, a former leadership contender, announcing his own departure earlier on.
The latest crisis facing the Tory leader has been the handling of the Chris Pincher row, for which he gave a public apology today.
He acknowledged he should have sacked the deputy chief whip when he was told about the claims against him while he was a foreign office minister in 2019, but instead went on to appoint him to other government roles.
Speaking after the Cabinet resignations, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: ‘This is rats deserting a sinking ship.
‘We all know that Boris Johnson is a morally bankrupt and corrupt prime minister, and he’s leading a corrupt out-of-touch Tory government.
‘That’s why the sooner we have a general election, the better. And in that election only Labour can replace the Tories – the rest can just oppose them.’
Mr Johnson returned to Downing Street this evening after speaking to reporters in his Commons office.
He was joined in No 10 by the ultra-loyal culture secretary Nadine Dorries and chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris as he assessed the significance of the Cabinet revolt against his leadership.
Ms Dorries backed the PM, tweeting: ‘I’m not sure anyone actually doubted this, however, I am 100 behind @BorisJohnson the PM who consistently gets all the big decisions right.’
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