BORIS Johnson’s day opened with a prayer and ended with him clinging to the grim hope he might still survive.
In between, he lost his Chancellor and Health Secretary and was left waiting anxiously to discover if any more ministers — all so ashen faced throughout the morning Cabinet meeting — might go.
Battered by days of sex scandal, and waking to more dreadful headlines, the beleaguered PM made his way to Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast.
Sitting just yards from where Charles I was condemned to death, one line from the hymn would have stuck in the craw as it echoed around Westminster Hall: “rescue us from all our foes.”
Across town the Chancellor Rishi Sunak had already decided enough was enough by breakfast and he was going to resign.
A big push to tell the nation they were getting a tax cut today had been ruined after No10’s disastrous attempts to bat away the Chris Pincher groping scandal.
An ally of Rishi said: “The chaos was once again getting in the way of the proper running of the country and the fact that you can’t get a minister out to sell a major tax cut, is in itself indicative of the problem.”
Another friend of Sunak said: “The Chancellor tried his best to make it work but the lack of focus, grip and competence was just too much. It was getting in the way of being able to do any of the things the country needed.
“Constantly flitting from issue to issue meant the public were not being treated honestly about the reality of the economy and enough was enough.”
Plans for a joint speech next week were already strained — but a continuing changing line on what the PM knew and when over the alleged sex pest promoted to the heart of government was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The Rishi ally added: “They had not fallen out but it was clear once again the disaster zone of No10 was going to overshadow everything. And enough was enough by Tuesday morning.”
As Rishi was plotting to resign, Lord Simon McDonald, the ousted boss of the Foreign Office, was sharpening his knife to stab the PM in the front.
His bombshell letter at 8am revealed the PM was told about bombshell sex pest claims concerning Mr Pincher back when he was a foreign office minister in 2019.
And he accused No10 of pedalling a web of lies to cover up the fact that Boris had known about it all along
After lobbing the grenade, he phoned in to the flagship 8.10am Today programme slot to make sure everyone in Westminster had spotted his letter
His revelations set fire to days worth of Downing Street’s defence along with the lines Cabinet ministers had peddled to defend Boris days before.
Boris’s leadership had been plunged into fresh crisis last Thursday when Trending In The News exclusively revealed that Mr Pincher had allegedly groped two men at Tory watering hole The Carlton Club.
In days of bluster, No10 peddled a string of bungled mixed messages about what Boris knew and when.
At first his team insisted he was not aware of “any allegations” about Mr Pincher when he promoted him this February. Days later this changed to the PM not knowing about a “specific allegation”.
Eventually Boris said he was aware of “some allegations” but these were “resolved or did not progress”.
While the PM tucked into a breakfast in the ancient hall, his loyal deputy Dominic Raab told radio stations Boris assured him he was not “briefed directly” on the claims against Pincher at the FCDO.
But Lord McDonald blew apart this line of defence — leaving the minister humiliated live on air.
BLOWN APART
An hour later and the pictures from the Cabinet told their own story. Boris bashed his notepads with his usual bluster, gusto and vigour vowing to “help people up and down the country with the cost of living.”
But the room was not spellbound by the PM’s usual magic. Even the staunchest of allies Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg were ashen faced.
One Cabinet Minister joked: “I was looking around wondering who was going to hand out the cyanide pills.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey had a thousand- yard stare days after being humiliated on national television defending a line that had quickly crumbled away.
At least two around the table knew it would be the last Cabinet they would be attending under this Prime Minister.
During the day, around five or six cabinet ministers — including Rishi and Health Secretary Sajid Javid — rang round each other to vent their frustration.
They said “something must be done” and that “things cannot go on like this”
But no one said they would resign, fearing their words would quickly be leaked.
A couple of hours later, next door in No9, journalists piled into the high tech media briefing room to demand answers after apparently being misled by No10.
The usual 11.30 meeting started 34 minutes late.
Sat at his desk the PM’s official spokesman shuffled his papers and read the agenda for the day.
He then began fielding a brutal serious of questions from journalists angry at being misled.
PINCHER COMPLAINTS
Over in Parliament ultra-loyalist Michael Ellis was sent out to be the PM’s flogging boy in the Commons bearpit.
The lawyerly-spoken minister valiantly tried to defend the PM and obediently trotted out the official line that boss Boris “did not immediately recall” the Pincher complaints.
But a firing squad of rebel Tory MPs behind him unleashed volleys on their man while the baying Labour benches had a field day.
Rebel ringleader William Wragg said Cabinet Ministers like Mr Ellis should “ask themselves if they can any longer tolerate being part of a Government” that had lost its sense of purpose.
Grandstanding Conservative Sir Bernard Jenkin asked why on earth those with “the wrong attitudes and the wrong behaviours” are being promoted.
And ex-whip Jackie Doyle Price demanded a “complete reset of standards”.
The PM made a rare visit to the Commons tea rooms to drum up support, and arranged to film a grovelling apology for his handling of the latest crisis with BBC’s political editor Chris Mason.
Moments after that clip was filmed, Rishi let No10 know he was quitting.
But he was beaten to the resignation post by Mr Javid who dropped his letter two minutes into the PM’s apology.
Insiders insisted it was not a coordinated move.
It was followed by a trickle of junior ministers and bag handlers.
At around 6pm Boris Johnson called an emergency meeting of ultra local Tory MPs to try to save his political skin.
Around 80 Tory MPs, including close chief lieutenants Priti Patel and Rees-Mogg, formed a protective guards. In a swipe at Rishi, he said he can finally cut taxes now his Chancellor had walked.
Loyalists say there was “plenty of cheering”.
But one senior Tory said: “It is curtains for him.”
Witnesses said Nadine Dorries stormed over to put an arm around him and dig in and, presumably, say a little prayer.
As Boris hot-footed it back to Downing Street to mastermind his fightback, Tory MPs hit the bars.
Some headed to a swanky drinks reception where they supped cocktails from a negroni fountain.
Others dashed to the House of Commons terrace to swig beer and pick over the day’s events.
Just days ago the PM said`”there is no place like home” and he couldn’t wait to get back to Britain.
After a torrid 24 hours, one wonders if he doesn’t want to leave on a jet plane permanently.
