Michael Gove has privately told Boris Johnson it is time to quit as prime minister after suffering a slew of devastating resignations, including two senior cabinet ministers.
The levelling up secretary, who was absent as Mr Johnson faced a grilling from Tory MPs in the Commons, told the prime minister he must resign at a meeting on Wednesday morning.
It comes as Mr Johnson fights for his political survival, with dozens of frontbenchers and ministerial aides resigning their posts, and Tory MPs demanding a second confidence vote.
However, just hours after the exchange, first reported by the Daily Mail, the prime minister defied calls to quit, telling MPs he had a “colossal mandate” to continue in No 10.
Mr Gove famously pulled his support from Mr Johnson’s first Tory leadership bid in 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, saying he had “reluctantly” concluded the then mayor of London “cannot provide the leadership of build the team for the task ahead”.
The pair both ran in the 2019 leadership race following Theresa May’s resignation from No 10, with Mr Gove given a position in Mr Johnson after the former foreign secretary won the race.
Mr Gove has until now remained loyal to the prime minister – including through the Partygate scandal – first serving as Cabinet Office minister and in his current role as levelling up secretary.
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