Home   Sudbury   News   Article

Subscribe Now

South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge resigns as Courts' Minister while Matt Hancock joins calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to quit




A Suffolk MP has become the latest minister to quit their role - putting more pressure on Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister.

MP for South Suffolk James Cartlidge has resigned from his role as Courts' Minister, citing the Prime Minister's role to be 'clearly untenable'.

The crisis at the heart of the Government began to unfold on Tuesday night when Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit their posts.

James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk, has resigned as Courts' Minister. Picture: UK Parliament
James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk, has resigned as Courts' Minister. Picture: UK Parliament

A wave of resignations have followed since, with Mr Cartlidge now the 53rd minister to quit their role, despite insisting yesterday that he would not resign.

In a letter sent to the Prime Minister, he said: "I felt duty bound to remain in the post given the very challenging circumstances facing the criminal courts.

"I took the view there had to be some semblance of Government in this crucial arm of our constitution. But the position is clearly untenable.

"The judicial part of our constitution is precious, embodying the principle of the rule of law that is so sacrosanct. It was difficult to put aside previous transgression, but you have been a lion in Ukraine and deserved a chance, with your democratic mandate, to change and reset.

"It must now be obvious that this is no longer even remotely possible."

West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock has also joined calls for the Prime Minister to quit.

The former Health Secretary said on ITV's Peston: "It's a sad end. I have worked incredibly closely with Boris, we have done some huge things like the vaccine programme together. But it's clear whether it is tomorrow or Tuesday there is going to be a new Prime Minister.

"Sadly, he has lost the support of his cabinet, many of his ministers and the parliamentary party. I have supported him through thick and thin, we have been in the trenches together working incredibly hard together, but unfortunately it has come to the point where he needs to resign."

The calls from Suffolk MPs for the Prime Minister to leave Number 10 continue to grow, with Bury St Edmunds MP Jo Churchill quitting her role as Minister for Defra yesterday.

MP for Ipswich Tom Hunt has also called for Boris Johnson to go, describing the events of the past week as 'the straw that has broken the camel's back'.



Comments | 0