Five aides to Boris Johnson resigned from Number 10 within hours of each other as pressure grows on the beleaguered prime minister.
Elena Narozanski, a special adviser at the No 10 policy unit, is the latest to quit her position, the Conservative Home website reported on Friday.
Her departure follows the resignation of four key No 10 officials on Thursday including policy chief Munira Mirza, who worked for Mr Johnson for 14 years.
This was followed by chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s principal private secretary, and director of communications Jack Doyle.
The three men were embroiled in the “partygate” scandal and energy minister Greg Hands suggested their departure from government were linked to a clear-out after civil servant Sue Gray’s inquiry into the allegations.
In an unusual move, the prime minister quoted from The Lion King on Friday as he sought to keep staff onside after Downing Street was rocked by the wave of resignations.
I’m told Boris Johnson addressed dozens of staff in No 10 this morning in what he described as a “half-time pep talk”.
He told them: "As Rafiki in the Lion King says, change is good, and change is necessary even though it's tough.” https://t.co/BGybXhA7gt
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) February 4, 2022
Speaking to staff in the Cabinet Room, as others tuned in on Zoom, he said: “As Rafiki in The Lion King says ‘change is good, and change is necessary even thought it’s tough'”.
Ms Mirza quit in anger over the prime minister’s use of a “scurrilous” Jimmy Savile smear against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid made clear he disagreed with Mr Johnson’s attack on Sir Keir when he falsely accused the Labour leader of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.
Ministers have tried to argue the exodus is part of Mr Johnson “taking charge” as he faces a potential leadership challenge amid allegations of rule-breaking parties in Downing Street.
‘Prime Minister taking charge’
Mr Hands told Sky News: “The prime minister was absolutely clear on Monday that there would be changes at the top of No 10 and that is what he has delivered.
“The Sue Gray report update said that there were failings at the top of the operation. This is the prime minister taking charge.
“This is a wider issue than just the Sue Gray report. This is about saying we need changes at No 10, which is what the Prime Minister said on Monday.”
However, he did admit the resignation of Ms Mirza, who is considered one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal allies, was “different” to the others.
The departure of Mr Reynolds had been anticipated after he invited at least 100 staff to a “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.
Mr Rosenfield is another whose resignation was expected after Ms Gray criticised “failures of leadership” in her investigation update.
In a resignation speech to staff reported by his former employer the Daily Mail, Mr Doyle, who headed up communications at No 10, said “recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life”.
The departure of such senior aides has piled fresh pressure on the prime minister as he fights for survival.
More than a dozen Conservative MPs are publicly calling on him to resign, with others expected to follow suit at the weekend.
Speaking to journalists, the prime minister’s official spokesman, said: “The prime minister has acknowledged it’s a challenging time as we go through a period of change but as he reiterated to the whole team today, there is an important job to do, the public expects us to be focused on it, whether it is the situation in Ukraine, recovering from the pandemic or, as the chancellor was setting out yesterday, on issues such as cost of living.”