Boris Johnson refuses to quit as Prime Minister as he sacks Michael Gove and sheds ministers

The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Gove on Wednesday night after the now former levelling up secretary reportedly told Mr Johnson to admit defeat and resign.

Mr Johnson’s authority descended into farce on Wednesday when Nadhim Zahawi reportedly joined the delegation of his senior Cabinet members calling for the PM to quit less than 24 hours after being named Chancellor.

At least 15 ministers resigned yesterday, a new record in a single day, leaving Mr Johnson’s leadership in tatters – with at least 41 MPs leaving government roles since Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid kickstarted the mass exodus.

Earlier, the PM was inundated with a further flurry of ministerial resignations including justice minister Victoria Atkins, trade minister Mike Freer and education minister Will Quince while Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid and former Scottish secretary David Mundell resigned as a trade envoys.

The PM has lost the faith of a significant number of his Tory colleagues for his response to the Chris Pincher scandal.

Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.

The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.

Mr Johnson, who faced angry calls for him to resign from his own MPs at Prime Minister's Questions, defiantly told MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee that he had no intention of resigning, insisting he will “hang on in there”.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has called for MPs to hold a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership in the Commons chamber in a bid to ensure he is “dragged kicking and screaming" from power.

The Tory backbench 1922 Committee decided not to push through a change of rules to force a quick second vote of confidence in the Prime Minister but will elect new executive members next week who could foster in rule changes.

If rules are updated, a fresh vote of confidence could be held by Tory MPs which could remove him as leader within days.

Speaking at the Liaison Committee, Mr Johnson insisted that due to the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine, he “can’t for the life of me see how it is responsible just to walk away”.

Earlier at Prime Minister's Questions, the Prime Minister faced some of his own MPs calling on his to quit.

Former Tory minister David Davis called on Mr Johnson to “put the interests of the nation before his own interests”.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned that Mr Johnson has entered “the dying act of his political career”.

Sir Keir warned that “anyone quitting now”, after defending a number of scandals engulfing the Government “hasn't got a shred of integrity”.

He said: “Isn't this the first recorded case of the sinking ships fleeing the rats?”

The Labour leader also called on those remaining in Government to “have some self-respect" and labelled the diminished number of ministers still in post as a “Z-list cast of nodding dogs”.

In yet more drama, senior Cabinet ministers marched on Downing Street in a bid to appeal to Mr Johnson to see the writing was on the wall and resign.

The senior Cabinet ministers including Mr Shapps, Ms Patel, Mr Gove and Mr Zahawi joined forces with Brandon Lewis and Simon Hart to demand Mr Johnson took a “dignified” exit.

Ms Patel reportedly spoke to Mr Johnson to convey the “overwhelming view” of the parliamentary party that he should resign.

Mr Shapps is thought to have told Mr Johnson that he stood little chance of winning another confidence vote and should instead set out a timetable for a departure on his own terms.

But Mr Johnson refused to quit and is reportedly intent on fighting another leadership challenge he inevitably will face from Tory MPs.

A source close to the Prime Minister said he told his colleagues there would be “chaos” if he quit and the party would almost certainly lose the next election.

The source said Mr Johnson was “continuing to focus on delivering for the public” and addressing the “hugely important issues facing the country”.

Allies including Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg all remained supportive of Mr Johnson.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also remained loyal to Mr Johnson and defended him at a session of the backbench 1922 Committee.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, was thought to have visited Downing Street to communicate the views of backbenchers, following the meeting in Parliament dominated by MPs calling for Mr Johnson to go.

The SNP’s Westminster leader warned the Prime Minister “doesn’t have the confidence of his own party, he doesn’t have the confidence of his own Cabinet” adding that he has “shown no dignity in his final hours” in office.

Speaking to Sky News, he added: “If he had ay decency, any self-respect, any dignity, he would realise that for him, this is over.

“He will be dragged out next week because the Tory party will make sure the 1922 Committee change the rules.

“This is a man that just about universally, Parliament wants gone. He cannot stay in office.

“To dig his heels in when his own Cabinet have turned against, this is unprecedented.”

Mr Blackford insisted that “if all else fails” a motion of no confidence in the House of Commons “might be the only way that we can get rid of this Prime Minister”.

It is thought that discussions between Labour and the SNP about a potential vote of no confidence being held could take place next week if Mr Johnson remains in office.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross said “more and more” of his Tory MP colleagues now agree that Mr Johnson should resign.

Mr Ross said: “I said that, at the no confidence vote two or three weeks ago that I could not in good faith continue to have confidence in him and now we are seeing more and more colleagues have reached the same conclusion.”

Asked who he would back in a Tory leadership election, he said: “We will wait and see.”

Earlier, Mr Ross told the BBC: told the BBC: “The Prime Minister needs to realise he’s lost the support of many colleagues and he has to stand down as Prime Minister.

He added: “It’s not an easy thing for many of us to tell the Prime Minister, but time is up and he needs to step aside.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also reiterated her calls for the Prime Minister to stand down.

“How much longer can this go on?” she tweeted.

“If Johnson has merest scrap of concern for anyone but himself he will resign immediately.

“And then.. let’s have an election to choose an alternative. For (Scotland) the permanent alternative is independence.”

Andrew Murrison, who quit as Government trade envoy on Tuesday, claimed the Government was “collapsing like a pack of dominoes”, insisting it was “not a sustainable position”.

He added: “This is game over and he must go now.”