Boris Johnson has within the past few minutes sacked Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove from his cabinet.
The prime minister reportedly telephoned Gove to inform him that he has been dismissed.
It comes amid reports he was among a number of senior Tory MPs urging Johnson to resign this evening.
A Number 10 source told the BBC: “You can’t have a snake who is not with you on any of the big arguments who then gleefully tells the press the leader has to go.”
Johnson has rejected calls from his own MPs, including cabinet members, to quit as PM.
The now former housing minister Stuart Andrew was among a number of of MPs to resign from the government earlier today.
More than 40 Tories have now quit government or party positions since around 6pm yesterday, with other backbenchers withdrawing their support.
Andrew commented: “It is with sadness that I am resigning as housing minister. I pay tribute to all my ministerial colleagues, officials, and civil servants in the Department and the wider sector. I look forward to continuing to serve my constituents in Pudsey, Horsforth, and Aireborough.”
He was the 11th different UK housing minister of the last 12 years.
You can read a copy of Andrew’s resignation letter below:
Comments (2)
About time – you can only allow someone to stab you in the back once. It all went wrong when Boris allowed Carrie to persuade him to get rid of Cummings.
So we have the renters reform bill, we all now know Michael Gove has gone, Housing Minister gone, all Levelling up department has gone. No stability. And they’ll get in some new Muppets with zero experience or qualifications to tell us how to house people. I’ve got a Master’s in housing compared to these Bafoon’s.I’m not allowed to leave, the same tenant of 25 years is not allowed to leve, & the same house is not allowed to leave. Yet the people who tell us how to rent houses out come & go.