A bit more from Energy Minister Greg Hands, who was asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme a little earlier whether he would have spoken about Sir Keir Starmer in the way Boris Johnson did on Monday.

His response was: "It is not my job to opine on these things.

"My job is the energy minister - making sure that we've got the energy that we need and that we get to net zero in 2050. I think that's a big enough job."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak publicly distanced himself from the PM's original comment yesterday, saying: "Being honest, I wouldn't have said it."

Image source, PA Media

As we've reported, Boris Johnson's top policy aide Munira Mirza quit her Downing Street role on Thursday - blaming the PM's false claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.

In her resignation letter, she told Johnson "it is so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the leader of the opposition".

Disc jockey and TV personality Savile was revealed to be a serial sex abuser after his death in 2011.

Sir Keir had a career as a lawyer before entering politics, rising to be the head of the Crown Prosecution Service between 2008 and 2013.

Johnson made his remark in the Commons on Monday as he came under attack over Sue Gray's report on Downing Street parties. He initially said he was "making a point about Sir Keir's responsibility for the organisation as a whole" but later acknowledged he "had nothing to do personally with those decisions".

Mirza - who has worked with Johnson since he became Mayor of London in 2008 - said he had been "wrong" to make the initial remarks, adding: "It was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse."

While some Tory MPs express concern about the resignations in Downing Street, others such as Energy Minister Greg Hands say "we shouldn't be surprised if there are changes".

The MP tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Boris Johnson previously indicated there would be "a shake-up at No 10" when he responded to the party investigations update on Monday.

Speaking to the programme, Hands pays tribute to all four of the departing staff members "for their public service and the incredible jobs they have done during the pandemic".

But he adds the PM has "made absolutely clear" that he disagrees with Munira Mirza's charge that Johnson made a "scurrilous accusation against the Leader of the Opposition" Sir Keir Starmer.

"We are now going to move on," Hands says.

"There will be new people coming into No 10 - which is what the prime minister announced on Monday that he would be doing."

The rises in energy bills and interest rates, as well as the Downing Street resignations, dominate today's front pages.

The Sun brings both stories together - describing the squeeze on family finances as the worst crunch in 32 years and the Downing Street resignations as a "partygate" bloodbath. Its headline reads: "Ouch!", external

"Meltdown in Downing Street" leads the Daily Mail, external, above a close-up picture of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the words: "Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights".

The i leads , externalwith: "Johnson's top team quits No 10 en masse", while the Guardian says , externalthe fallout from the Downing Street party scandal has continued to shake his hold on government.

According to the Times, external, two cabinet ministers have questioned whether the PM can survive. "It feels like the end, it's all falling apart. It's 50/50 in my view at the moment", one is quoted as saying.

Read our full newspaper review here.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Conservative MP Huw Merriman has said Boris Johnson must "shape up or ship out".

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a large group of Tory MPs are being loyal to the prime minister and concentrating on the positives.

"We want this to work," he says.

But Merriman adds that he is " deeply troubled" by the current situation.

He says he was very disappointed that Johnson's policy adviser Munira Mirza quit, and he agrees with her that the PM should have issued a full apology over his remarks linking Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer to the initial failure to prosecute paedophile DJ Jimmy Saville. The PM later backed down from these comments, saying the Labour leader "had nothing to do personally with those decisions".

A former MP, now editor of the independent blog ConservativeHome, has tweeted about the apparent departure of another No 10 adviser.

Paul Goodman reports that Elena Narozanski has become the fifth No 10 aide to walk out within 24 hours.

Ms Narozanski was a special adviser to the PM on women and equalities, DCMS, and extremism.

We'll bring you more on this in the coming hours.

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

The chief of staff, the chief of communications, the official who runs the prime minister's private office, and his policy chief - all gone.

A quartet of departures from Number 10.

In the words of one senior backbencher, not just a nightmare on Downing Street but a total meltdown.

Yet two different things happened on a turbulent day. The first three paid the price for the fiasco over lockdown gatherings - one sending the invite to the garden drinks, the other two crafting Boris Johnson's bungled response to weeks of damaging claims.

Boris Johnson's backers claim it's evidence that he'll keep his vow - 'I get it, I will fix it' - that Number 10 can become the home to a new and improved operation.

Read Laura's blog in full here.

Image source, PA Media

Four senior aides to Boris Johnson resigned from Downing Street within hours of each other on Thursday, amid growing pressure on the prime minister.

Head of policy Munira Mirza left over what she said was a "scurrilous" attack by the PM on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Her departure was swiftly followed by the resignations of three more staff caught up in the lockdown parties row – including Martin Reynolds, who sent out a "bring your own booze" invitation to one of the gatherings.

Director of communications Jack Doyle and chief of staff Dan Rosenfield confirmed their exit within hours of Ms Mirza’s stinging resignation letter, which was published by the Spectator, external.

Mr Doyle told staff that "recent weeks have taken a terrible toll on my family life", and that he had always intended to leave after two years.

The resignations came as the PM faces more questions over his leadership from his own party.

The BBC is aware of 17 Tory MPs who have submitted letters of no confidence in the prime minister - 54 are needed to trigger a leadership contest.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, ex-Tory foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind described the situation as "not so much the end of the beginning as the beginning of the end".