A Conservative minister who was forced to "accept and repeat" assurances over the Chris Pincher scandal which have been shown to be false has resigned.
Will Quince confirmed he was leaving his post as minister for families and children after receiving ‘inaccurate’ briefings from No 10.
He backed claims that the Prime Minister was "not aware" of allegations made against Mr Pincher a day before it was confirmed that Boris Johnson was told about them in 2019.
Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, Mr Quince said "the Prime Minister was not aware of any allegation or complaint made against the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher".
In his resignation letter, he thanked Mr Johnson for a "sincere apology" after receiving "inaccurate" briefings from No 10 before Monday's media round.
It is the latest resignation from Boris Johnson's cabinet after both Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid quit on Tuesday evening over the matter.
Tory MP Laura Trott also quit as a ministerial aide on Wednesday, as she said trust in politics has been lost in recent months.
Mr Quince said the decision "has not been easy".
His resignation letter read: “Dear Prime Minister. Thank you for meeting with me yesterday evening and for your sincere apology regarding the briefings I received from No 10 ahead of Monday’s media round, which we now know to be inaccurate.
“It is with great sadness and regret that I feel that I have no choice but to tender my resignation as minister for children and families as I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith.
“It has been an honour to serve in government since 2019 at both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education.
“Reaching this decision has not been easy. Stepping away from a job I love, where we are working every day to improve the life chances of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people up and down our country, pains me greatly.
“I will miss it hugely but pledge to do all I can to continue this important work from the backbenches.
“I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my sincere thanks to the hundreds of dedicated and hard-working civil servants with whom it has been a pleasure to work.”
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