British PM losing grip on power as criticism grows

LONDON • Hours after one of Mr Boris Johnson's longest-standing allies quit - with a stinging rebuke of his judgment - the British Prime Minister gathered shell-shocked staff in Downing Street to tell them "change is good".

But while Mr Johnson has tried to put his trademark optimistic spin on yet another week of turmoil, the ebullient persona that carried him to the top is now jarring with the reality of a desperate battle to cling to power.

He started the week with a plan to reinvigorate his premiership, marked by announcements to flesh out his key electoral promise to "level up" forgotten communities, make the most of Brexit and tackle a cost-of-living crisis.

Instead, he has been dragged to the brink after a senior civil servant criticised leadership failures over parties held in his office during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Daily Mirror reported on Friday that the police have a photograph of Mr Johnson holding a can of beer at his birthday party during lockdown in June 2020.

In the fallout, three other senior aides left the government and more Conservative Members of Parliament have called on Mr Johnson to resign.

Conservative MP and former schools minister Nick Gibb, in an opinion piece in The Telegraph newspaper on Friday, said it was "inaccurate" that Mr Johnson told the House of Commons there was no party. He added: "To restore trust, we need to change the Prime Minister."

More ominously, key ministers suddenly appear less willing to give Mr Johnson their full backing.

Both Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid declined to defend him after he invoked child sex abuser Jimmy Savile in a heated exchange in Parliament with opposition leader Keir Starmer.

According to The Times, Mr Johnson's Cabinet is in "civil war". Mr Johnson's decision to falsely accuse Mr Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, of allowing Mr Savile to evade justice before his death in 2011 has backfired.

It also robbed Mr Johnson of the chance to brand the departure of senior aides on Thursday as a reset of his Downing Street operation.

The exit of Ms Munira Mirza, the head of his policy unit and a close aide who had been at his side since he was Mayor of London in 2008, blindsided Mr Johnson. She blamed his "scurrilous" attack on Mr Starmer for her leaving.

Mr Johnson would face a vote on his leadership if 54 of his backbenchers submit letters calling for his resignation. At least 14 have called on him to resign or said they have lost confidence in him.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS