A government law officer and a justice minister have joined the wave of resignations from the government. In a letter to the prime minister published on Tuesday evening, solicitor general Alex Chalk QC MP said he could no longer ‘defend the indefensible’. Meanwhile Victoria Atkins, minister of state at the Ministry of Justice, wrote today that: 'I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values'.
Chalk said the cumulative effect of the Owen Paterson affair, partygate and handling of the resignation of the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher had caused public confidence in Downing Street to uphold standards of candour to have ‘irretrievably broken down’.
He added: ‘I am saddened to leave a role which I have enjoyed and, I hope, contributed positively. But the prime minister needs a solicitor general who can defend the culture and course set on his watch. I regret I no longer can.’
The Cheltenham MP has been in the role since last September, after serving 18 months as a justice minister. His letter followed those of chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid, whose resignations on Tuesday evening left Boris Johnson's position in peril.
Sir Bob Neill, chair of the justice select committee, said Chalk had been an ‘exceptional’ solicitor general who had ‘acted honorably’.
Atkins was elected as MP for Louth & Horncastle in 2015. She was previously a criminal barrister specialising in prosecuting serious organised crime.
Neither the lord chancellor Dominic Raab nor attorney general Suella Braverman have made any public comment since the wave of resignations and both remain in their posts as of Wednesday morning. As deputy prime minister Raab would step up as interim PM in the event of Johnson's departure.
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