ALISTER Jack has backed the Prime Minister and will remain in Government following the shock resignation of two of Boris Johnson’s top team.
Rishi Sunak stepped down as chancellor on Wednesday night after Sajid Javid quit as Health Secretary, sparking a crisis in Number 10 following the scandal around the promotion of an alleged sex pest Tory MP.
But the Scottish Secretary has confirmed he will stay on in his role saying the Prime Minister has enjoyed his full support.
In a statement released following a series of dramatic resignations, including staunch Johnson loyalist Jonathan Gullis, Jack said: “I fully support the Prime Minister. I am sorry to see good colleagues resign, but we have a big job of work to do, and that’s what we’re getting on with.”
Senior Scottish Tories blanked the media on Thursday morning as chaos engulfed Downing Street, with BBC Scotland’s flagship morning news programme saying neither Douglas Ross nor Jack were available for interview.
Government resignations: Who is staying, who has gone? What does Boris Johnston do next? Scots Secretary Alistair Jack not available this morning nor Douglas Ross or any Scottish Tory MPs We'll speak to @IanDuncanHMG & @JoAnneNadler#bbcgms 0805https://t.co/jBcDgCsklB
— Gary Robertson (@BBCGaryR) July 6, 2022
Sunak and Javid quit in dramatic fashion with the former chancellor suggesting Johnson’s government was not being run "properly, competently and seriously”.
It follows the scandal around Christopher Pincher, who has been suspended by the Conservative Party following allegations he drunkenly groped two men in a private member’s club in London last week.
It has since emerged he was promoted to the whips office – responsible for enforcing party discipline – despite Johnson being aware he had previously been the subject of a Foreign Office probe into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Johnson sent out ministers to defend the appointment based on false claims but has claimed he did not “immediately recall” the 2019 investigation into Pincher during his time as a Foreign Office minister.
Apologising last night, the Prime Minister admitted it was “a mistake” to appoint Pincher to the senior Government role.
Other junior ministers have quit in the wake of Javid and Sunak’s departures.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed news of the chaos in Westminster, saying the "whole rotten lot" needed to go and appeared to back Labour's calls for a general election.
