Boris Johnson ‘plans mass impeachment to save his premiership’

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Oris Johnson is planning to fire several staff in a desperate attempt to salvage his premiership, according to reports.

The Prime Minister will remove many members of his inner circle before the publication of the Sue Gray report at a series of alleged parties held in Downing Street and across Whitehall in 2020.

Martin Reynolds, who serves as the prime minister’s private secretary, wrote an email inviting 100 10th-ranked officials to “socially distanced drinks” on May 20, 2020.

Boris Johnson’s chief private secretary, Martin Reynolds, left, is said to be sacked (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)

/ PA wire Read more

According to the Sunday Times, Reynolds and his deputy, Stuart Glassboro, will likely be forced out of Downing Street.

Chief of Staff No. 10 Dan Rosenfeld also cannot be fired, but officials declined to comment on the reports.

Conservative Party chief Oliver Dowden admitted there were “failures” in 10th place, after a series of leaks about alleged closed parties, but denied it was a question of Boris Johnson’s resignation.

Dowden said the government plans to “address the kind of culture that allowed” violations of coronavirus laws to occur, referring to a change at the top of the Johnson administration.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Mr Dowden said: “I can assure you that the Prime Minister is deeply remorseful and deeply apologetic for what happened.

But most importantly, he is determined to make sure that this is not allowed to happen and that we are dealing with the core culture of Downing Street.

“There have been failures: we should have done better, much better. We need to raise our game, and this needs to be addressed, and I know the Prime Minister is committed to addressing that.”

It comes as Tim Lawton became the sixth Conservative MP to call on the prime minister to resign on Saturday.

The East Worthing and Shoreham MP said Johnson’s position had become “untenable”, adding that “his resignation is the only way to end this whole unfortunate episode”.

Apologizing for the “great harm” to his constituents, he added: “Frankly, the issue for me is not the number of sausage rolls or cups of Prosecco the Prime Minister has actually consumed.

“The reason I conclude calling for him to step down is the way he has handled the mounting discoveries in the past few weeks.

“Confusion, evasion and evasion were the norm in the day when clarity, honesty, and remorse were what the British people deserved.”

Mr. Lawton suggested that he plan to submit a letter of no-confidence to Sir Graham Brady, Chairman of the 1922 Committee of Members of the House of Representatives.

According to the Daily Telegraph, about 20 letters have been submitted so far – well short of the 54 letters required for a leadership vote.

The controversy over gatherings and parties in Downing Street renewed this week after a series of violent revelations.

Downing Street was forced to apologize to Buckingham Palace on Friday after it emerged that two staff parties were being held on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Witnesses said employees danced to loud music and drank alcohol on April 16, 2021, with one person sent to a local store with a bag to buy wine.

Opinium, the pollster, said Johnson’s acceptance rating has fallen to 42 percent – roughly 20 points a week – and nearly two-thirds of people surveyed think he should step down,

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