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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
David Coleman & Ciara Phelan

Why did Boris Johnson resign? Full explainer of what’s going on in UK politics

Boris Johnson finally accepted political defeat when he resigned from his role as British Prime Minister last week.

The Tory leader was rocked by scandal after scandal during his time in charge of the country.

His resignation was celebrated by the opposing Labour Party and his one time friends who turned their back on him during the scandal.

READ MORE: Inside Boris Johnson's turbulent love life - two ex-wives, countless lovers and seven children

But why did he walk way, and what exactly happened?

Johnson has always been a divisive figure, but he grew under increasing pressure after accusations he knew about groping complaints made against Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.

Britain's Prime Minster Boris Johnson speaks with members of the Metropolitan Police in their break room, as he makes a constituency visit to Uxbridge police station on December 17, 2021 in Uxbridge, England. (gettyimages.ie)

The Tory - who resigned as Deputy Chief Whip over claims he groped two men last Wednesday - is alleged to have made unwanted passes at two Conservative MPs in 2017 and 2018, after his first resignation as a whip.

A Tory MP also claimed he was groped on two occasions by Mr Pincher, first in December 2021 and again last month.

Downing Street and various Tory ministers have insisted Boris Johnson did not know about any “specific” allegations when he appointed Mr Pincher Deputy Chief Whip in February.

And the PM tried to keep him on the Tory whip for around 24 hours before he was suspended on Friday evening, following a complaint to Parliament’s independent grievance scheme.

But ex-No10 adviser Dominic Cummings alleged Mr Johnson referred to Mr Pincher as "Pincher by name, pincher by nature" long before the Cabinet reshuffle.

One report even claimed Mr Johnson told aides he had the “support of all the sex pests” in the Tory Party for his successful 2019 leadership bid.

Now No10 have admitted the PM was aware of "media reports that others had seen over the years and some allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint".

Three Cabinet sources admitted there was anger among ministers at having to defend how Downing Street defended the groping scandal.

Announcing his resignation, Johnson said: "It is clearly now the will of the Parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister.”

It came in the wake of the scores of ministers resigning over the handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.

Mr Johnson suffered serious blows last week as his once closest allies had told him to throw in the towel.

On Sunday it emerged it was Carrie Johnson who tipped husband Boris over from defiance into docile acceptance of his fate.

And Mr Johnson’s dad, Stanley, says his son will now console himself over his lost job by turning to painting.

When the PM gathered aides around a vegetarian takeaway of lentil curry and naan bread at 8pm on Wednesday to rebuild his shattered Government he was still determined to cling on.

But as the meeting broke up at 11pm Mr Johnson went up to the flat above No11 he shares with wife Carrie and their children Wilfred, 2, and Romy, seven months.

An insider said: “Boris then talked through his predicament with Carrie who has an astute political brain. She told him she thought the game was up, but they agreed to sleep on it.”

The next morning she urged him to quit.

Following his resignation, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has told how he did not agree with Boris Johnson on politics but said the pair got on well on a personal level.

Mr Martin said that Mr Johnson is “good company” but he hoped the next British Prime Minister could repair what is currently a “strained” relationship with Ireland due to the decision of the British government to pass legislation overriding the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“And it's fair to say that over the last while that relationship has come under strain, there have been significant challenges.

“I didn't say anything personally negative about him.

“On a personal level we got on well… we didn’t agree on fundamental issues, most notably on Brexit.

“On a personal note he was good company, one has to say that and that’s generally the experience of most people.”

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