LONDON
\nFour top aides to Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, marking the latest setback for the British prime minister whose government has been embroiled in scandal in recent days.
\nJohnson\u2019s head of policy, Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and communications director Jack Doyle all left their posts Thursday, just days after a damning investigation revealed that multiple parties took place at Downing Street while the rest of the United Kingdom was living under strict Covid-19 lockdown rules.
\nThe report, released Monday, uncovered multiple parties and a culture of excessive drinking at Downing Street. The report\u2019s author, senior civil servant Sue Gray, said there had been a \u201cfailure of leadership\u201d in Johnson\u2019s government.
\n\u201cAgainst the backdrop of the pandemic, when the Government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behavior surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify,\u201d the report said.
\nMirza\u2019s departure is the most consequential. She was one of Johnson\u2019s longtime allies and a key political player who helped shape the prime minister\u2019s platform — some of which made her unpopular with other members of his ruling Conservative party.
\nWhile Doyle\u2019s departure was expected, Rosenfield and Reynolds\u2019 resignations are being framed as part of a shake-up Johnson said would follow the revelations from Monday\u2019s report.
\nMirza said her decision was motivated by controversial comments the prime minister made about the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer.
\nOn Monday, Johnson alleged that Starmer, while serving as director of public prosecutions, failed to prosecute Britain\u2019s most notorious pedophile, Jimmy Saville. Starmer on Wednesday accused the prime minister of \u201cparroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try and score cheap political points.\u201d
\nMirza said in her resignation letter that she believed \u201cit was wrong\u201d for Johnson \u201cto imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice. There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion.\u201d
\n\u201cYou tried to clarify your position today but, despite my urging, you did not apologies for the misleading impression you gave,\u201d Mirza added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Four top aides to Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, marking the latest setback for the British prime minister whose government has been embroiled in scandal in recent days. Johnson\u2019s head of policy, Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, and communications director Jack Doyle all left their posts Thursday, just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-242689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n