West Sussex MP: It was my duty to show loyalty to Boris Johnson

The Prime Minister was forced to announce his resignation this morning, although he intends to stay on at Number 10 until his successor is chosen by the Conservative Party.

Already rocked by Partygate, Mr Johnson has been widely criticised for his handling of allegations against former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

And while a number of ministers have either quit or called on the PM to resign, neither Mr Griffith, policy minister, nor Horsham MP Jeremy Quin, defence procurement minister, have up to this point said anything publicly.

In a statement this morning, Mr Griffith said: “I respect the decision that the Prime Minister reached overnight in the national interest.

“Aside from my family, my loyalties will always be to our country, to the constituents whom it is my privilege to represent and then to the Conservative Party which received such a strong mandate from the electorate at the 2019 General Election.

“I am as far from being a career politician as is possible. I stood to represent the residents of Arundel & South Downs after 25 years in business. My belief is that - despite the many evident failings of Westminster - in a democracy it is important we have people of principle making good decisions. I remain of that view today, although successive revelations about the unacceptable behaviour of a minority of Members of Parliament from all political parties have come as a shock and a disappointment.

“Whilst mistakes have without question been made and I respected the views of those who called for the Prime Minister to go earlier, I felt on balance that it was my duty to give the loyalty any leader has the right to expect. It is only by working together as a team that we can make the difference on the things that we wish to achieve: a planning policy that protects the green fields and communities of West Sussex from overdevelopment, more police on our streets, true sovereignty, control of our borders and improvements to the NHS.

“As a minister, I have been proud to help craft and deliver policies that will help people here in West Sussex as well as nationally. In the last few weeks alone, I worked with the Prime Minister on a plan for de-regulation and for cuts to income and corporation tax that would give businesses the confidence to invest, help grow our economy and allow families to keep more of what they earn. My hope is that the next Prime Minister will urgently implement those plans.

“I continue to serve in this Government and look forward to giving my full support to the next Prime Minister. Above all, I will continue to serve the constituents of Arundel & South Downs to the very best of my ability.”

Neighbour Mims Davies, who represents Mid Sussex, resigned as employment minister yesterday describing how she had become ‘increasingly concerned’ about Mr Johnson’s premiership, those around him, the party’s direction and what it stands for.