UPDATE - British Chancellor Sunak, Health Secretary Javid resign

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS FROM RESIGNATION LETTERS, UK PREMIER'S APOLOGY FOR APPOINTING FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP, ADDS BACKGROUND TO CRISIS

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - British Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday resigned from his role, saying he could no longer continue his role “with a conscience," followed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who also resigned.

“I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care,” Javid wrote on Twitter.

“It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience,” he said.

In his resignation letter, Javid said: “The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country. Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest.

"Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and new direction. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership - and you have therefore lost my confidence too.”

Sunak also quit following Javid's resignation, tweeting: "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."

In his resignation letter, Sunak said: “I have always tried to compromise in order to deliver the things you want to achieve. On those occasions where I disagreed with you privately, I have supported you publicly.

"That is the nature of the collective government upon which our system relies and it is particularly important that the Prime Minister and Chancellor remain united in hard times such as those we are experiencing today.”

Sunak added: “I firmly believe the public are ready to hear that truth. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it’s not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different.”

- Allegations against former deputy chief whip

The backdrop to the two high-profile resignations came after a scandal over Chris Pincher, a government MP who resigned as the deputy chief whip last week after allegations about an incident that occurred at a private members’ club.

Downing Street initially said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was unaware of previous specific allegations against Pincher, but it later emerged that Johnson was in fact informed when he was the foreign minister in 2019 of previous instances of alleged misconduct on Pincher’s part.

Just before the resignations, Johnson apologized for appointing Pincher as the deputy chief whip.

Johnson told the BBC: “I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.

“I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. I want to make absolutely clear that there’s no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power.”

He added: “If I had my time again I would think back on it and recognise that he wasn’t going to learn a lesson and he wasn’t going to change and I regret that.”

* Karim El-Bar contributed to this story.