Michael Gove sacked by Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister faces calls to resign

The news comes after senior Cabinet members met earlier on Wednesday with the PM and asked him to stand down.

The senior Cabinet members telling Mr Johnson to resign include Home Secretary Priti Patel, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart.

Mr Johnson has remained defiant and has rejected calls from his Cabinet colleagues to quit after support for his leadership has crumbled at Westminster.

Boris Johnson sacks Michael Gove amid calls for PM to resign

Boris Johnson. Credit: PA

The news comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned from their roles on Tuesday, sparking a mass exodus of MPs and Ministers.

A source close to the PM said to the PA News Agency that Mr Johnson has told his colleagues there would be “chaos” if he quit and the party would almost certainly lose the next election.

The source also revealed Mr Johnson was “continuing to focus on delivering for the public” and addressing the “hugely important issues facing the country”.

Neither Mr Shapps nor new Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr Zahawi are expected to resign, despite the Prime Minister’s refusal to go.

The PM's remaining allies include Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg who all remained supportive of Mr Johnson.

His Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who would stand in for him if he resigned, has also remained loyal to Mr Johnson and defended him at a session of the backbench 1922 Committee.

Earlier this evening, the 1922 committee voted to keep the current rules that would prevent a second vote of no confidence against the PM, waiting under the new executive committee election on Monday.