Taking charge or losing control?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was scrambling to save his premiership yesterday after four of his inner circle quit in the fallout from lockdown-breaking parties in his Downing Street office.

Long-term ally and key policy advisor Munira Mirza unexpectedly quit on Thursday, delivering a hammer blow to the embattled leader and sparking a flurry of further resignations in his top team.

Amid speculations, his spokesman yesterday claimed Johnson has not lost control of his Downing Street operation, adding that three of the aides who resigned on Thursday did so by mutual consent.

Energy Minister Greg Hands said the exodus was a sign that Johnson was "taking charge", having promised a clear out of staff following the "partygate" revelations.

But the manner of the departures, particularly that of loyalist Mirza, has increased the sense that the fate of the prime minister is no longer in his own hands.

Mirza quit after Johnson linked Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer to the failure by UK authorities to prosecute veteran TV host Jimmy Savile for child sex offences. Revelations about Savile emerged after his death in 2011.

Thursday's drama prompted the right-wing Daily Mail tabloid, which is normally supportive of the government, to headline its front page "Meltdown in Downing Street", as the resignations rolled in.

Downing Street confirmed that chief of staff Dan Rosenfield was leaving. His resignation comes after a top civil servant, in a long-awaited inquiry, this week condemned "failures of leadership" over a series of parties held in violation of Covid restrictions.

Also going is Martin Reynolds, the top civil servant in Johnson's operation.

To trigger a leadership challenge, 54 of the 360 Conservative MPs in parliament must write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the party's 1922 Committee. A snap poll by YouGov conducted on Jan. 31 showed that 63 percent of voters wanted Johnson to resign, though another YouGov poll showed just 31 percent thought he would resign.