London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 15, 2026

Boris Johnson resignation: Sajid Javid says prayer meeting moved him to quit

Boris Johnson resignation: Sajid Javid says prayer meeting moved him to quit

England's former Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, says he first thought about leaving Boris Johnson's Conservative government a week ago.

What resolved him to quit, he told the BBC's Sunday Morning show, was hearing a sermon on integrity at a prayer breakfast in Parliament on Tuesday.

He had previously given Mr Johnson the benefit of the doubt, he said.

When Mr Javid quit on Tuesday, a wave of resignations followed. Mr Johnson will now stand down in the autumn.

The event which triggered the prime minister's downfall, described by Mr Javid on Sunday as the "final trigger", was the suspension of MP Chris Pincher over sexual assault claims.

Mr Johnson had appointed Mr Pincher deputy chief whip - whose job it is to uphold discipline among fellow Tory MPs - in February, despite being made aware of earlier misconduct.

"It might sound a bit strange but I was listening to the sermon by this amazing man, Reverend Les Isaac - you know, he started Street Pastors," Mr Javid told the BBC's Sophie Raworth.

"I was listening to him talking about the importance of integrity in public life and, just focusing on that, I made up my mind.

"I went straight back to my office and drafted the resignation letter and went to see the prime minister later in the day."

Asked if he had co-ordinated his resignation with Rishi Sunak, who quit as chancellor minutes afterwards and - like Mr Javid - is now standing in the contest to replace Mr Johnson, the former health secretary said "not at all".

"Once you lose confidence in your boss, your prime minister, I don't think you can hide that," he added.

On his own ambition to replace Mr Johnson, he said he had the necessary experience and would come forward with a new Conservative economic plan.

He is promising tax cuts, arguing that without an economic uptick, funding for public services will suffer.

Asked about the years when he himself was non-domiciled for UK tax purposes, Mr Javid, who was first elected as an MP in 2010, says this was in the 2000s before he entered public life.

He says he had a job that was international and had lived abroad including in the US and Singapore. In 2009 he moved back to the UK and ever since then he has been tax resident and tax domiciled in the UK.

"Everything I've ever done when it comes to UK tax affairs has been properly consistent with UK tax," Mr Javid says.



Watch: Sajid Javid says he had given Boris Johnson the benefit of doubt before he decided to resign


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Finland Discuss European Defence and Continued Support for Ukraine
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
UK Government Deploys Military to Help Fight Wildfires and Bans Disposable Barbecues
UK Records Hottest Day of the Year as Fifth Summer Heatwave Peaks in Southern England
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Cash Flow and Tax Pressures
Greatham Marsh Restoration Restores Tidal Wetland in Hartlepool After More Than 200 Years
UK Health Regulator Urges University Students to Check Meningitis and Measles Vaccination Status
Mining Remediation Authority Completes Major Ground Stabilization Works in Scottish Community
UK Food Crime Investigators Seize 33 Tonnes of Illegal Food in Multi-Agency Operation
Technical Qualification Uptake Hits Record High as Advanced Mathematics Results Improve
UK Summer Temperatures on Course to Challenge Long-Standing Records, Met Office Says
UK Farmers Bring Forward Cereal Harvests as Drought Threatens Yields
Wildfires Surge Across England and Wales as Fire Chiefs Report Record July
UK Nurses Warn of Heat Risks as Hospital Staff Struggle With Extreme Temperatures
Southern Water Seeks Drought Order for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Amid Water Shortages
UK Heatwave Pushes West London Temperature to 38.1 Degrees as Health Alerts Continue
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Global Uncertainty
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
UK Residents Gather to Watch Rare Partial Solar Eclipse
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice Faces Criticism Over Legal Threat Against Guardian Journalist
Michael Forsyth Elected Speaker of the House of Lords
Cambridge Researchers Launch £20 Million Human Organoid Drug Testing Programme
Heathrow Loses European Passenger Traffic Lead to Istanbul Airport
Households Near New UK Electricity Pylons to Receive £250 Annual Energy Bill Discount
UK Government Estimates Zero-Hours Contract Ban Could Cost Employers Up to £3 Billion a Year
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
UK Police Chiefs Urge Government to Block Early Release of Andrew Harper Killers
UK Government Holds Emergency Cobra Meeting as Drought and Heatwave Raise Wildfire Risks
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
Police Conduct Cross-Border Raids Against Northern England Drug Network
Nicola Sturgeon Protested at Edinburgh Festival Fringe Event
Major UK Retail Chain Enters Administration With One Hundred Fifty-Four Stores Set to Close
Heathrow Renews Call for Runway Expansion After Losing Europe’s Busiest Airport Ranking
Government Condemns One Million Pound Thames Water Executive Bonus Amid Drought
NHS England Says More Than One Hundred Thousand Hepatitis C Patients Have Been Cured
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Calls for End to West Bank Settler Violence
UK Prepares for Deepest Partial Solar Eclipse Since Nineteen Ninety-Nine
UK Heatwave Triggers Amber Health Alerts as Economic Losses Reach Four Point Four Billion Pounds
UK Offers Electricity Bill Discounts to Communities Hosting New Power Infrastructure
Bank of England Expected to Hold Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Five Percent
UK Government Moves to Ban Subscription Traps and Misleading Retail Discounts
Andy Burnham Gives Councils New Powers to Block Betting and Vape Shops
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Nicola Sturgeon Says She Has No Contact With Estranged Husband After SNP Embezzlement Case
Police Arrest Two Men After Aberdeenshire Defense Technology Office Break-In
×