British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, set to resign from office after collapse of cabinet

According to officials aware of the development, Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, is planning to resign as the head of the Conservative party.

This comes after a number of his ministers and advisors abruptly resigned in a wave of mass resignations over the previous two days after losing their backing and even that of some lawmakers.

Johnson, who has lost the support of many of his supporters, has saw his government become embroiled in a few controversies, the most recent of which being how he handled concerns expressed about Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip, in relation to claims of sexual misconduct.

A close ally said Johnson had shown in the last 48 hours he would go down fighting but however, conceded he must resign. He had vowed to continue in office after a wave of resignations from the government over his leadership but has now decided to step down.

In the meantime, he will continue as caretaker prime minister until October, with a new Conservative leader set to be installed in time for the party’s annual conference.

Prime Minister Johnson is expected to make his resignation statement to the country outside 10 Downing Street, later on Thursday afternoon.

Mass resignation of cabinet members

Johnson is bowing to the inevitable after dozens of ministers and aides, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State for health and social care, Sajid Javid, resigned from office.

In addition, dozens of ministers and junior aides, and members of his cabinet — including newly-appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, visited him and told him to his face that he should step down, although he was reported to have been initially defiant.

Others in the delegation included Grant Shapps, transport secretary; Simon Hart, Welsh secretary; Brandon Lewis, Northern Ireland secretary; and Chris Heaton-Harris, chief whip.

On Wednesday, Johnson had remained defiant with his team saying he intended to fill the vacant roles. But the exodus continued on Thursday morning, with 2 cabinet ministers quitting, alongside a number of junior ministers, and Zahawi tweeting that the situation was “not sustainable.”