New Delhi, Feb 4 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been rocked by another Downing Street resignation after a fifth aide quit as Cabinet Ministers said they believe there is a “50/50” chance that Johnson will be forced out of office, the Daily Mail reported.
Elena Narozanski, a member of the Number 10 Policy Unit, resigned on Friday, according to the Conservative Home website.
Some senior ministers believe “it feels like the end” after Thursday’s exodus amid mounting fears in Downing Street that more staff and even ministers could resign.
But the Prime Minister’s allies have insisted the shake-up is actually evidence of Johnson “taking charge”.
Senior Conservative MPs on Friday issued a fresh warning to Johnson that he must “shape up or ship out”, the Daily Mail report said.
Number 10 was in meltdown as the Prime Minister ordered a brutal clearout in a desperate attempt to shore up his troubled premiership as Rishi Sunak primed himself for a leadership bid.
Downing Street announced that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and private secretary Martin Reynolds will be leaving.
That announcement came after it emerged the PM’s communications chief, Jack Doyle, was also departing.
Johnson had already been hit by the shock resignation of one of his closest allies, policy chief Munira Mirza, on Thursday, the report said.
It then emerged on Friday morning that Narozanski, a former Team England boxer and former adviser to Michael Gove, had reportedly followed Mirza in quitting the policy unit.
Johnson was also publicly criticised on Thursday by the Chancellor who questioned the Prime Minister’s conduct over his explosive claim that Labour Party leader Keir Starmer had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
The Chancellor also later penned an opinion piece for The Sun in which he attempted to bolster his potential leadership credentials in a thinly-veiled bid for the top job, the report said.(IANS)