Four of Boris Johnson's senior aides resign

Four aides to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, including his chief of staff, stepped down on Thursday, media reported.

Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield handed in his resignation after Johnson's director of communications, Jack Doyle, and policy chief, Munira Mirza, quit earlier in the day.

Martin Reynolds also stepped down on Thursday as principal private secretary to the prime minister.

Johnson "thanked [Rosenfield and Reynolds] for their significant contribution to government and No 10, including work on the pandemic response and economic recovery," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The spate of resignations comes as pressure continues to pile up against Johnson after reports came to light of numerous parties at his residences while the rest of the country was in a strict lockdown.

Johnson facing increasing pressure

Several members of Johnson's Conservative Party have already called for the prime minister to step down following the reports.

The UK public broadcaster, the BBC, reported on Thursday that it was aware of 17 Conservative MPs who had submitted letters of no confidence. A total of 54 letters are required to trigger a leadership contest within the party.

Mirza cited the prime minister's barbed comments to opposition leader Kier Starmer on Monday as the reason for her resignation. Johnson made a false claim about the Labour leader during his time as director of public prosecutions failing to prosecute notorious pedophile Jimmy Saville.

The comments caused an uproar, with even Johnson's finance minister, Rishi Sunak, distancing himself from the remarks. 

"Being honest, I wouldn't have said it, and I'm glad the prime minister clarified it," Sunak said. The prime minister was forced to backtrack on Wednesday after widespread condemnation.

Saville died in 2011, known mostly as a beloved children's entertainer. But after his death, it emerged that he had abused hundreds of children without ever facing prosecution.

Why did the aides step down?

Chief of Staff Rosenfield has left the job after just one year. Doyle and Reynolds had both been implicated in the so-called "partygate" scandal.

Reynolds wrote an email to colleagues in May 2020, while the UK was in one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, telling them to "bring your own booze" to a gathering.

Doyle has been accused of having attended at least one of the events that are now under investigation by the police.

The British newspaper Daily Mail cited colleagues who said he had told them: "It was always my intention to do two years. Recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life."

ab/sms (Reuters, AFP)