This Is How Boris Johnson Ended Up Having To Resign

Boris Johnson's stint as prime minister has come to end. But how did it get to this point?

The 58-year-old was first properly thrust into the spotlight amid his time as the Mayor of London after photos emerged of him stuck on a zipwire while celebrating the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Many didn't see it coming that he would end up as prime minister of the UK. However, the ex-Eton student steadily climbed to the top of the Conservative party and began running the country in 2019.

Today, 7 July, that all came to a crashing end, with Johnson having handed in his resignation.

So, as the dust settles on the news, let's have a look back at the series of scandals which have led to Johnson's downfall over his final year as PM.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the leader's reaction to the virus and slow enforcing of lockdowns faced criticism from members of parliament.

The 58-year-old was also caught not wearing a mask while sat next to Sir David Attenborough, as well as visiting a hospital without a face covering in breach of official hospital guidance.

That's not where Johnson's breaking of regulations stopped, either.

In December 2021, leaked footage showed Johnson's former spokesperson Allegra Stratton joking about a controversial Christmas Party which was alleged to have taken place in 2020 at Downing Street in breach of social distancing rules.

The Conservative Party was also fined £17,800 over Johnson's Downing Street flat renovation.

Shortly after the video of Stratton was released, calls grew for Johnson to resign, but he didn't bow down, and continued to power on as PM after issuing a brief apology.

Alas, that was just the beginning for the PM of what has since become known as the 'partygate' scandal.

Downing Street was then accused of having thrown not just one, but multiple parties while the rest of the UK was in lockdown, including a quiz night hosted by Johnson himself.

Sources also came forward to attest that Johnson had been present at a party held in May 2020 too.

To add to the growing list of allegations at the time, an image later emerged of Johnson, his wife and Conservative party members in tow in the garden of Downing Street armed with wine and cheese, similarly 'during lockdown'.

Johnson issued another apology and Sir Keir Starmer called for Johnson to resign. But again, such a call proved to be of no avail.

It then came out No. 10 had held two parties the day before Prince Philip's funeral as well as hosting regular 'Wine Time Fridays' during the pandemic.

While reportedly planning 'Operation Save Big Dog' it emerged the prime minister had even attended a Christmas leaving party too - dealing a fresh blow to his leadership.

In January 2022, it was confirmed by Police Commissioner Cressida Dick that officers would be investigating a 'number of events' held both in Downing Street and Whitehall in relation to whether or not members of the Conservative party broke coronavirus regulations.

Meanwhile, top level civil servant Sue Gray released a report which concluded there had indeed been 'failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office'.

In April 2022, it was revealed both Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Johnson would receive 'fixed penalty notices' for breaching lockdown rules.

While Johnson narrowly won the vote of no confidence over his leadership last month, the final nail in the coffin came after it was confirmed he had indeed been informed of an investigation into claims of inappropriate behaviour from Conservative MP Chris Pincher in 2019, despite having previously denied knowing anything about the complaints.

Pincher resigned last week after being accused of groping two men, and on Monday it emerged he had previously been investigated over his conduct three years ago. 

Number 10 initially denied that Johnson knew anything about the claims, but a spokesperson later confirmed he had in fact been briefed on the complaint. 

The spokesperson said: "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."

Issuing an apology earlier this week, Johnson 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."

Although, it seems it wasn't enough to save his skin.

It didn't take long for Sunak and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid to hand in their resignations.

Dozens more ministers followed suit soon after, seeing him suffer more resignations in one day than any other PM in history.

Johnson is subsequently departing from his prime minister post after just two years and 348 days, making him one of the shortest serving prime ministers in the UK's modern history.