London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Johnson struggles to rally team as pressure on him builds up

Sajid Javid has joined Rishi Sunak in rejecting slur on Keir Starmer and another MP has called for PM to go

Boris Johnson’s attempts to rally his dilapidated top team floundered on Friday after a second cabinet minister distanced himself from the prime minister and another Conservative MP called for him to go.

In a bid to shore up support, Johnson wrote to MPs promising them a “direct line to Downing Street”, but his move came as Sajid Javid followed the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in rejecting Johnson’s remarks linking Starmer with the failure to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Savile.

The health secretary said Starmer had done “a good job” as director of public prosecutions and that “he should be respected for it”. Javid said he was glad Johnson had “clarified” his remarks – though the prime minister has not apologised.

Sunak said of Johnson’s comments on Thursday: “I wouldn’t have said it.” The attempt to smear Starmer led to the departure of Johnson’s longstanding policy chief, Munira Mirza, on Thursday.

In another sign of Johnson’s waning authority, Newcastle-under-Lyme MP Aaron Bell became the ninth Tory backbencher to confirm publicly that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister.

“The breach of trust that the events in Downing Street represent, and the manner in which they have been handled, makes [Johnson’s] position untenable,” Bell said in a statement on Friday.

The MP was widely believed to have submitted a letter after he challenged the prime minister in the House of Commons on Monday.

Bell told MPs he had followed the lockdown rules meticulously, driving three hours each way to his grandmother’s funeral without hugging his family or stopping for a cup of tea, and asked pointedly: “Does the prime minister think I’m a fool?”

If 54 letters are sent to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, a vote of no confidence will be called – and if Johnson loses it, his premiership will be over.

Some senior Tory MPs believe the total number of letters may be close to 40, though the total is never made public until the threshold is reached. More are likely to when details emerge of whether Downing Street staff have been fined for breaching lockdown rules.




The Met is investigating a dozen parties in Downing Street and Whitehall and has been handed a bundle of evidence including 300 photographs. One person who has seen some of them said, “It looked like a party to me”, adding that they would not be surprised if up to 20 No 10 staff ended up being given fixed penalty notices.

Johnson sought to placate Conservative MPs on Friday with a conciliatory letter detailing plans to include them in future policymaking.

He is also planning a policy blitz next week, according to government sources, with announcements expected “pretty much every day”, including on health and a potential overseas trip for discussions on the crisis in Ukraine.

Johnson flew to Ukraine earlier this week, and No 10 subsequently released a publicity video about the trip with a movie-style soundtrack.

This week also saw the publication of the long-awaited levelling-up white paper and Sunak’s cost of living measures, but Downing Street has struggled to wrench the headlines away from the ongoing chaos in No 10.

Johnson told MPs in his letter: “I understand the deep importance of engaging with colleagues in parliament and listening to your views, and that is why I want colleagues to have a direct line into 10 Downing Street,” he wrote. “I promised change and this is what we will now deliver together.”

One former cabinet minister said they believed the departures from the PM’s team on Thursday evening – which left him without a director of communications, a principal private secretary or a chief of staff – could hasten Johnson’s own exit. “The mass exodus is obviously bad for Boris and may bring forward decision day,” they said.

Another former minister said: “I think there are probably a lot of people who are going to be wrestling with their consciences over the weekend.” They said the exodus from Downing Street “all looks a little bit like panic”.

Elena Narozanski, a special adviser to the prime minister on women and equalities, culture, media and sport and extremism, became the fifth aide to depart on Friday morning.

Johnson’s spokesman said new appointments would be made “in the coming days”. Some MPs say they are awaiting for these before judging whether Johnson has fulfilled the promise he made to overhaul his top team. One Tory insider said the situation was “very fluid” but that No 10 would want to make the appointments before the weekend was out.

Among those being tipped for a communications job are Simon McGee, a former Foreign Office press head, and the current press secretary, Rosie Bate-Williams.

For more strategic roles, insiders suggested David Canzini, an ally of Lynton Crosby, and Ross Kempsell, a senior political operator at Conservative campaign headquarters.

Lord Frost has already made clear that he will not come back into the fold while the National Insurance rise is going ahead, and former aides Lord Lister and Will Walden are also thought to be resistant to returning.

Another senior figure in communications said he had turned down the job previously and would not go to a “sinking ship”.

The prime minister gathered No 10 staff in the cabinet room for a pep talk on Friday morning, quoting the Lion King to tell them “change is good”, after five members of his senior team, including Mirza, had quit in the space of less than 24 hours.

Johnson’s spokesman said: “He reflected on the privilege of working in No 10 in order to deliver for the British people and reiterated his and No 10’s commitment to serving the public by keeping people safe, improving lives and spreading opportunity.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×