UK PM Johnson vows to 'keep going' despite resignations

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied growing calls for him to step down on Wednesday (Jul 6), telling lawmakers he would "keep going" despite a wave of resignations from his government including those of two key ministers.

Johnson made the remarks at the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions in parliament in response to a question from a lawmaker in his own party who asked if the prime minister thought there were any circumstances in which he should resign.

"Clearly, if there were circumstances in which I felt it was impossible for the government to go on and discharge the mandate that we've been given, or if I felt, for instance, that we were being frustrated in our desire to support the Ukrainian people ... then I would," Johnson told parliament.

"But frankly, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you've been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going," Johnson said. "And that's what I'm going to do."

Johnson has suffered an exodus of ministers in just 24 hours and later faced an hours-long grilling from the chairs of the House of Commons' most powerful committees, including some of his most virulent critics in the Tory ranks.

As of 2.35pm (9.35pm Singapore time), 27 ministers and aides have quit.

His immediate fate could be decided as soon as later on Wednesday at a meeting of the so-called 1922 Committee that sets the rules for leadership confidence votes. A spokesperson said Johnson was confident he would win a confidence motion.

The 58-year-old British leader's grip on power became more precarious within 10 short minutes on Tuesday night, when Rishi Sunak resigned as finance minister and Sajid Javid quit as health secretary.

Both said they could no longer tolerate the culture of scandal that has stalked Johnson for months, including lockdown lawbreaking in Downing Street that enraged the public who followed the rules.

After the parliament session, Javid urged other ministers to resign. "The problem starts at the top, and I believe that is not going to change," he said.

"And that means that it is for those of us in that position - who have responsibility - to make that change."

Cries of "bye Boris" echoed around the chamber at the end of his speech.

Sunak and Javid's departures came just minutes after Johnson apologised for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit his post last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men.

Former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was immediately handed the finance brief. "You don't go into this job to have an easy life," Zahawi told Sky News.

"Sometimes it's easy to walk away but actually, it's much tougher to deliver for the country."