Boris Johnson ate a curry and was in fighting spirit saying “we can do this” before going to bed but by morning reality had dawned, it is reported.
Following the initial resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, gradually the prime minister lost more and more of his Conservative MPs during Wednesday leading to a total of 46 by the end of the day.
Yet Mr Johnson seemed as though he was going to doggedly fight to the end, refusing to give in as talk emerged of plans by the Conservative Party to change its rules to allow him to be ousted as leader.
But that was until he came out and addressed the media outside in the early afternoon of Thursday where he said that he would stand down and seemed to blame a “herd” instinct in Parliament.
Behind the scenes, it appears as though the scandal-hit prime minister was determined to tough it out on Wednesday night as he worked out with his remaining supporters in Downing Street how to fill the Cabinet vacancies.
Priti Patel telling him he should resign was a major blow but still it did not dent Mr Johnson’s aim to continue.
"Priti told him she would serve him in whatever capacity and for however long he wanted but she thought he could not go on much longer. It was quite emotional. They will always be best of friends," said a Daily Mail source.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had been keeping a spreadsheet of the MP resignations and said he would "lose badly" claimed another source, while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis had also advised him to stand down.
But he sat down at around 8pm in a bunker atmosphere with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and his communications secretary Guto Harri as they tucked into a vegetarian curry and worked over what to do .
Also offering their advice were loyalists Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Cabinet minister Nigel Adams and Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns.
And Mr Johnson appeared enthusiastic as he began filling the roles in the Cabinet proclaiming “We can do this!” at one point and “Let’s get it done”, it is reported.
Then shortly before 9pm he then got on the phone to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and sacked him after he had told him to resign earlier in the day.
"His staff told him that emails were pouring in from across the country, urging him to stay and fight. I suspect they never told him about the emails that said: “For heaven’s sake, man, go," said the Daily Mail source.
At around 11pm the prime minister went upstairs at Downing Street saying that he was going to continue, it is reported.
"He was pumped up the night before: Raging about the ministerial resignations, about the people who let him down but sometimes, when you wake up, you see things differently," reportedly said a source at Downing Street.
And then by 6.30am he finally had realised that everything was indeed all over and began writing his resignation letter.
