Michel Gove has called on PM Boris Johnson to resign

Many people who were watching Prime Minister's Questions today will have noted certain important individuals weren't sitting on the front benches. With more and more ministers resigning, Boris Johnson is rapidly losing supporters due to the way he handled the Chris Pincher groping claims. After acknowledging that he was aware of the allegations of sexual assault when he elevated the disgraced MP to deputy chief whip, he would have desired the broadest possible backing. Viewers observed that Michael Gove and Priti Patel were absent as MPs on both sides of the Commons tore into Johnson over his most recent incident.

Another crucial cabinet member resigning could be the deciding factor after he lost his chancellor and health secretary in short succession last night. There have been increasing rumors, but Johnson's spokesperson claimed that Gove hasn't resigned after the Prime Minister spoke with him. The Levelling Up Secretary has a history of deceiving Johnson, so it doesn't mean he couldn't resign later this afternoon. His unsuccessful 2016 attempt at the Tory leadership was considered detrimental to Johnson's campaign, which made way for Theresa May to become prime minister.

When asked if he would run against Johnson again last month, Gove acknowledged this was a "misjudgment" and responded, "Oh God no," but this week, things have been moving quickly. Although she is traveling to Indonesia for the G20 foreign minister's conference in Bali, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was absent today. Priti Patel, the home secretary, and another potential candidate were also absent from the front rows. Her whereabouts at the time are unknown, and she made no note of the PM's ongoing political conflict on Twitter.

When Johnson first acknowledged knowing about the Chris Pincher charges on Monday, Patel was the final Cabinet member to formally announce her support for Johnson. Over the past few days, the government's position has changed a little. Initially, No. 10 claimed that the PM was unaware of any complaints when he elevated Pincher in February. A spokeswoman later said on Monday that Johnson was aware of complaints of sexual misconduct that had "either been settled or did not move to a formal complaint." The following day, though, Simon McDonald, a former senior civil servant, threw a curveball by asserting that the PM's office wasn't being truthful.

He said that in the summer of 2019, he received concerns regarding Pincher's conduct in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Following a complaint from a number of Foreign Office employees, which was later confirmed by an investigation, Pincher offered an apology and made a commitment not to repeat the behavior. According to the former chief diplomat McDonald, this defies Johnson's claims that he was ignorant of the accusations or that they were unofficial and had been dropped.

"The modified No. 10 statement is still not accurate," he wrote. "The original No. 10 line is not true." Mr. Johnson received a personal briefing on the start and conclusion of the investigation. The Conservative MPs calling for Johnson's resignation following lockdown-busting parties conducted in Downing Street were advised to "forget it" by the Home Secretary in June. However, she might end up changing her mind if she determines that the Prime Minister has no chance of surviving his most recent scandal.