Boris Johnson battles to stay in power after ministers resign

LONDON — A defiant British prime minister Boris Johnson was battling to stay in power on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the resignation of two top ministers who said they could no longer serve under his scandal-tarred leadership.

His first challenge is getting through Wednesday, where he faces tough questions at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in Parliament and a long-scheduled grilling by a committee of senior lawmakers.

The resignations of Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid came within a few minutes of each other over the course of months of discontent over Johnson's judgment and ethics in the governing Conservative Party. Sunak wrote a scathing resignation letter saying the public should expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning. Javid said the party needed humility, grip, and a new direction, but it is clear that this situation will not change under your leadership. Johnson quickly replaced the two ministers, removing Nadhim Zahawi from the education department to the Treasury and installing his chief of staff, Steve Barclay, as health secretary.

A string of resignations from more junior ministers late Tuesday showed that the danger to Johnson was far from over, as shown by a series of resignations from both the liberal and right-wing branches of the Conservative Party.

In the past few months Johnson has been fined by the police and slammed by an investigation by an investigator about lockdown-breaching parties in government during the epidemic, survived a no-confidence vote by his party in which 41% of Conservatives voted to oust him, and has seen formerly loyal lieutenants urge him to resign.

He has vowed to carry on governing through it - even suggesting he wanted to stay in office until the 2030s.

The prime minister sluggished explanations on his handling of a sexual misconduct scandal, which was the final straw for Sunak and Javid.

The latest scandal began last week when the Conservative deputy whip Chris Pincher resigned over allegations that he groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations against Pincher and questions about why Johnson promoted him to a senior job enforcing party discipline.