WILL Quince has resigned as children and families minister, saying he could not accept being sent out to defend the Prime Minister on television with inaccurate information over the Chris Pincher row.
Quince had been one of the ministers sent on the airwaves to defend Johnson’s position over Pincher, who quit as deputy chief whip after allegedly assaulting two men while drunk at London’s Carlton Club.
The Prime Minister later acknowledged he had previously been informed of allegations against Pincher dating back to 2019 and said he regretted keeping him in government beyond that point.
Quince said he had received a “sincere apology” from Johnson for being sent out with an “inaccurate” briefing about the Prime Minister’s knowledge of events.
But “I have no choice but to tender my resignation” as “I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith”.
Meanwhile, resignations continue elsewhere as Laura Trott quit as a ministerial aide, saying “trust in politics is – and must always be – of the utmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost”.
There have now been around 13 resignations from government, with the exodus kicked off by Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak on Tuesday night.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, Sunak’s replacement as Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, hinted at reversing a planned rise in corporation tax as part of the effort to restore trust between the leadership and Tory MPs.
Zahawi sought to reassure Conservatives that “nothing is off the table” when questioned about possibly scrapping the planned increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% in April 2023.
“I will look at everything. There’s nothing off the table. I want to be one of the most competitive countries in the world for investment,” he told Sky News.
“I know that boards around the world, when they make investment decisions, they’re long-term, and the one tax they can compare globally is corporation tax. I want to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be whilst maintaining fiscal discipline.”
Quince’s resignation came as Zahawi toured the broadcast studios and the Chancellor told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “He felt let down, clearly. All I would say to my colleagues is, people don’t vote for divided teams.”
But the Chancellor said he believed the Prime Minister had integrity and was “determined to deliver for this country”.
Zahawi denied reports he had threatened to resign if he was not offered the job of Chancellor, saying “that is not true”.
