Hundreds Of Thousands Respond To Boris Johnson's 'Leaving Party/Work Event'

The news that Boris Johnson will be stepping down as prime minister is just a couple of hours old, but people are already planning a big old knees up to celebrate.

Earlier this morning, the 58-year-old informed staff that he is resigning as leader of the Conservative Party and the country following his latest controversy.

Usually someone might expect a few moments of respect while they pack their things up, but hundreds of thousands of people are already thinking of having a party at Downing Street.

The Facebook event, cheekily called 'Boris Johnson's Leaving Party/Work Event', has been set up following the long-awaited announcement.

So far over 40,000 people have said they plan on attending while over 166,000 have expressed some interest in the gathering, where there will be 'leaving drinks plus a cake' - a reference to the 'partygate' scandal which saw Johnson receive a fixed penalty notice for holding a birthday party during lockdown.

Sue Gray Report/Cabinet Office

Not much more is known about plans for the event, except that it is set to kick off at 7:00pm tomorrow night (8 July).

Johnson's resignation comes after it was confirmed he was in fact previously aware of an investigation into Conservative MP Chris Pincher over his behaviour back in 2019. 

Pincher, who Johnson promoted to deputy chief whip earlier this year, resigned last week after being accused of groping two men at the Carlton Club in London.

It later transpired that he had previously been investigated over his conduct several years ago.

Initially, Johnson denied having any knowledge of these previous allegations, however, a spokesperson confirmed he had been briefed on the complaint.

The spokesperson added: "I would add a caveat at least that this was related to a conversation, and what I believe to have been a brief conversation, that took place around three years ago."

Johnson apologised for appointing Pincher, saying it ‘was a mistake’ and admitted that ‘in hindsight the wrong thing to do’.

He said: "The complaint was cleared up, he apologised. It was raised with me, I was briefed on what had happened and if I had my time again I'd think back on it and I'd realise he wasn't going to learn a lesson and he wasn't going to change."

Alamy

Following the revelations, chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid resigned from government on Tuesday (5 July) evening.

In his letter, Sunak said: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."

Dozens more ministers have since followed over the past 24 hours, and Johnson has now been forced to step down.

Earlier this morning, Nadhim Zahawi, who Johnson promoted from education secretary to chancellor following Sunak's departure, also demanded that he resign.

He said: "Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now."