COLCHESTER MP Will Quince has resigned as Minister for Children and Families with immediate effect.
The Conservative MP, who was elected to represent the constituency of Colchester in 2015, made the announcement on Wednesday morning.
Quince had previously stood firm in his support of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but recent revelations concerning the PM's appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip – despite allegations he had acted inappropriately towards other MPs – has seen the Prime Minister come under heavy scrutiny in recent days.
With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate.
— Will Quince MP 🇬🇧 (@willquince) July 6, 2022
I wish my successor well - it is the best job in government. pic.twitter.com/65EOmHd47p
In an open letter to the Prime Minister published on Twitter this morning, Will Quince said he felt he had "no choice but to tender my resignation as Minister for Children and Families".
The resignation comes after it emerged Boris Johnson was aware of Pincher's inappropriate behaviour when appointing him as deputy chief whip in the Conservative Party.
No 10 had insisted the Prime Minister did not know of the misconduct allegations against Pincher, but on Monday, a government spokesman admitted Johnson had in fact been aware of the speculation surrounding the deputy chief whip.
Quince wrote: "Thank you for meeting with me yesterday evening and for your sincere apology regarding the briefings I received from No 10 ahead of Monday’s media round, which we know to be inaccurate."
"It is with great sadness and regret that I feel that I have no choice but to tender my resignation as Minister for Children and Families as I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith.
"It has been an honour to serve in government since 2019 at both the Department for Work & Pensions and The Department for Education.
"Reaching this decision has not been easy.
"Stepping away from a job I love, where we are working every day to improve the life chances of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people up and down out country, pains me greatly.
"I will miss it hugely but pledge to do all I can to continue this important work from the backbenches.
"I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my sincere thanks to the hundreds of dedicated and hard-working civil servants with whom it has been a pleasure to work."
More to follow.
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