After Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid abruptly left his Cabinet in what appeared to be a planned attack, Boris Johnson finally spoke out, leaving him clinging to his position.
The embattled Prime Minister’s first remarks following the double resignation were in his reply to the duo’s letters announcing their resignation from their positions in government.
In response to Rishi Sunak’s resignation as chancellor, Mr. Johnson expressed regret for having received the letter of resignation and praised Mr. Sunak’s “excellent service.”
Dear Rishi, The Prime Minister wrote in a letter: Your letter resigning from the government was received with regret.
“Throughout the most trying moment in our economy’s peacetime history, you have served the nation admirably.”
He mentioned the furlough program, Mr. Sunak’s efforts to fix the state budget and the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Johnson apologized for receiving Sajid Javid’s letter of resignation as health minister and said his administration would “continue to deliver” on its ambitions for the NHS.
Dear Saj, The Prime Minister wrote in a quick letter: I appreciate your letter of resignation you sent in this evening. I was so sorry to get it.
“You have distinguished yourself in your service to this Government and the people of the United Kingdom.”
In their resignation letters, Sunak and Javid both made strident attacks on Mr. Johnson’s persona.
With his chief of staff Steve Barclay taking the position of Health Secretary and Nadhim Zahawi transferring to the Treasury, Boris swiftly replaced Javid and Sunak.
Boris’s response to Rishi Sunak’s resignation as Chancellor of the Exchequer:
Dear Rishi,
I was sorry to receive your letter resigning from the Government.
You have provided outstanding service to the country through the most challenging period for our economy in peacetime history.
In March 2020, weeks after your appointment as Chancellor, we introduced a national lockdown to protect people from the pandemic. You acted to safeguard the economy with the pace, creativity and commitment which has been the hallmark of your tenure.
The furlough scheme – conceived and implemented in a matter of weeks -supported 11.7 million jobs from 1.3 million employers. Through business loans and grants, you helped thousands of businesses to avoid insolvency. Emergency funding worth more than £140 billion, enabled the NHS and other critical public services to meet the enormous challenges we faced.
These efforts primed the economy for a rapid recovery once the immediate dangers of the pandemic receded. At the Spending Review last year, you put us on track to deliver our promises to the British people, including 20,000 police officers and 40 new hospitals. We also set a clear plan to rebuild our economy and public services, including an historic funding settlement for the NHS and delivering six million tutoring courses to help pupils catch up lost learning.
Through all of this, you have not shied from the tough decisions needed to repair our public finances whilst protecting public services and boosting economic growth. This has enabled us to provide support to households worth £37 billion, as we have faced global inflation pressures arising from Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
And we have begun to deliver tax cuts to families – including this week, a cut to National Insurance saving the average worker £330 a year.
I have enormously valued your advice and deep commitment to public service and will miss working with you in government.
Yours ever,
Boris Johnson