The prime minister survived a vote of confidence in his leadership last month. Under the current rules of the 1922 committee, which organises Tory leadership contests, another challenge can't happen for 12 months.

However, MPs could still consider options to try to remove him.

Change the rules: There has been speculation the rules could be changed, so that Conservative MPs can hold another vote on Johnson's leadership sooner.

When asked about it previously, Sir Graham Brady MP, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, said "technically, it's possible".

A vote is expected next week to re-elect members of the 1922 and some Tory backbenchers are expected to run, stating that they would change the rules.

Cabinet pressure: Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid believe their resignations are necessary to force Johnson to resign.

Boris Johnson still has his foreign secretary, home secretary, defence secretary and business secretary, but further resignations could pile on more pressure.

A far less likely route would be for the cabinet to go the Queen and declare they don't have confidence in the PM.

Parliamentary motion of no confidence: A ballot where all MPs - not just Conservatives - get to vote has been proposed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

But the government would need to agree to make time in Parliament to hold such a vote and it would need to be brought by Labour, as the official opposition.

Image source, UK Parliament

Lee Anderson, the Tory MP elected in 2019 for the Red Wall seat of Ashfield, which was previously held by Labour, has withdrawn his support from Boris Johnson.

Anderson said he had remained loyal to the prime minister since being elected, but his position had changed in the past few days following the government's handling of the situation with former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

He said giving Pincher the job, having been told about earlier inappropriate behaviour, was "not a good appointment" by Johnson.

He highlighted the initial denial that the prime minister had been told about earlier allegations and then the change in the government's position to state that Mr Johnson simply forgot.

"I cannot look myself in the mirror and accept this.

"It is my belief that our PM has got all the big decisions right and guided us through the most difficult time in my lifetime and I have always backed him to the hilt. That said, integrity should always come first and sadly this has not been the case over the past few days."

The Conservative MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, says he has lost confidence in the prime minister.

This is not a resignation, but he's regarded as an important figure in the party - and he chairs the education select committee.

Halfon has tweeted a letter explaining he was "previously against any leadership change... during Covid, a cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine. However, after the events of the past few days and the resignation of Cabinet members, I feel that the public have been misled about the appointment of the former deputy chief whip [Chris Pincher].

"The parties at Number 10 Downing Street were bad enough but the appointment of this individual and the untruthful statement about what was known is unacceptable to me."

Two former Number 10 insiders have been giving their predictions for the next few days and weeks.

Sir Craig Oliver, who was former prime minister David Cameron’s director of communications, says a cabinet minister told him that Boris Johnson had said "it would take a flamethrower to get me out of Downing Street".

He's told the Today programme on Radio 4 that he doesn't think there's any chance of Boris Johnson, in the next few days, saying he would resign.

Oliver predicts that Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak will stand up in the House of Commons and probably make quite devastating statements, the 1922 Committee will move against Johnson and, after the summer, Parliament will start its investigation into whether or not the PM misled it.

But Lord Barwell, Downing Street chief of staff under Theresa May, says he doesn’t think the Johnson government will get to the summer following more resignations from junior ministers this morning. He thinks we may soon get to the point where the PM won’t be able to fill all the spots in the government.

Barwell adds that he thinks the elections for the 1922 Committee next week will give a majority to Johnson’s opponents. If that happens, he says, they will change the rules and we could see another ballot on the PM's future before the summer.

Those remaining loyal to PM to face uncomfortable challengepublished at 10:11 British Summer Time 6 July 2022

10:11 BST 6 July 2022

Ione Wells
Westminster Correspondent, BBC News

To put it bluntly - Tory MPs and ministers have had enough of not being told the truth, and being made to look like fools on TV and radio as a result.

Will Quince, when having to defend the government over their appointment of former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, told the media he was given a "categorical assurance" that the prime minister was not aware of any "serious, specific allegations" when Pincher was appointed.

This turned out not to be true.

The prime minister later admitted that he was aware of a formal complaint made about Pincher when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019.

Quince resigned as a minister today, saying he had "accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate".

He was joined by junior minister Robin Walker and Laura Trott - previously a transport parliamentary private secretary - who also said she was resigning because trust in politics had been lost.

Those who are remaining loyal to the prime minister now face an uncomfortable challenge. They must defend why they, on the contrary, feel it was acceptable for No 10 to tell ministers to say one thing - before reversing their position days, or even hours later.

So the recap we just posted is already out of date.

Another junior minister has just resigned - the third person to quit this morning. Robin Walker was minister for school standards.

In a statement, the MP for Worcester says the government has been "overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity".

This takes the total number of resignations since yesterday evening to 13.

Image source, EPA

We've had two more government resignations this morning, taking the total to 12.

Let's recap who has resigned from where:

Cabinet ministers

• Rishi Sunak - chancellor
• Sajid Javid - health secretary

Ministers

• Will Quince - minister for children and families
• Alex Chalk - solicitor general

Ministerial aides

• Laura Trott - parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the Transport secretary
• Jonathan Gullis - PPS to the Northern Ireland secretary
• Saqib Bhatti - PPS to the Health secretary
• Nicola Richards - PPS to the Department for Transport
• Virginia Crosbie - PPS at the Welsh office

Others

• Bim Afolami - vice-chair of the Conservative Party
• Theo Clarke - trade envoy to Kenya
• Andrew Murrison - trade envoy to Morocco

It's worth remembering that between 160 and 170 MPs currently hold positions from which they'd have to resign in order to oppose the government.

That includes 95 ministers, 47 PPSs, and 20 Conservative trade envoys, according to the Institute for Government, external.

The cost of living is one of the first things the new chancellor will have to grapple with as he moves into No 11 Downing Street.

There are growing fears the UK could fall into a recession, defined as the economy getting smaller for two consecutive three-month periods, with higher prices causing households and businesses rein in spending.

Here are some of the main issues Zahawi will face:

• Inflation: The rate at which prices rise is currently running at a 40-year high of 9.1% and is set to rise past 11% in the autumn
• Energy bills: A typical household energy bill is now heading above £3,000 a year this winter, £200 higher than previously predicted. Bills rose by an unprecedented £700 in April
• Fuel prices: The cost of petrol and diesel has soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the cost of a litre of petrol rising by 17p in June alone. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak introduced a 5p a litre cut to fuel duty but there are calls for more action
• Food costs: The war in Ukraine is also impacting on some food supplies globally, such as wheat and sunflower oil. Supermarkets in the UK say they are trying to keep a lid on price rises, but latest official figures show people are cutting back on shopping as the cost of living bites into budgets

Nadhim Zahawi says he could "well up" at the thought of being appointed to the role of chancellor.

Zahawi was born in Iraq in 1967 - his parents were forced to flee the country and he grew up in Britain.

“I pinch myself every morning to wake up to think the 11-year-old who arrived on these shores and couldn’t speak a word of English, is now the member for Shakespeare, for the heart of England, and the chancellor of the exchequer in her majesty’s government," he tells BBC's Radio 4.

"This is the greatest country on Earth," he adds.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, we've had more resignations in the last hour, with children's minister Will Quince and Laura Trott, a ministerial aide in the Department for Transport, both stepping down.

They coincided with the new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He was asked by presenter Nick Robinson about Quince's resignation live on air as the news broke:

"Mr Zahawi, forgive me for interrupting you but as you were saying that sentence, the man who came on this programme on Monday morning to defend the prime minister [over Chris Pincher] has resigned.

"It's over, Mr Zahawi, isn't it?"

Zahawi responded: "I am sorry to see Will Quince go... he was my children and families minister and a great minister.

"All I would say to colleagues is people don't vote for divided teams.”

"It's been an honour to serve," he says, as he thanks those he's worked with.

Here is a video of Will Quince on Monday, defending the prime minister over his handling of Chris Pincher.

Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after claims he groped two men at a private club in London.

In the above clip Mr Quince says he has been given assurances that Boris Johnson had not previously been aware of other allegations about Mr Pincher.

However, the line quickly unravelled - and Mr Johnson admitted last night that he had known about a complaint dating back to 2019, but said he had forgotten about it.

In his resignation letter, Mr Quince thanks the prime minister for "your sincere apology regarding briefings I received from No 10 ahead of Monday's media round, which we now know to be inaccurate".

However, he adds that he had accepted and repeated assurances about Chris Pincher in "good faith" so now had "no choice" but to resign

Image source, PA Media

As education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi called for a 9% pay rise for new teachers. He’s asked by Nick Robinson on the Today programme that now he is chancellor, can teachers assume he will write the cheque?

Zahawi says the Tories made a pledge in their manifesto to increase the starting salary for teachers to £30,000. He says to get there, that 9% is what he’s advised the pay review bodies. He says it was agreed during the spending review.

He also says he recommended 5% over two years for senior teachers.

He says as chancellor he will look at evidence from the pay review bodies and “we will make a collective decision as a government”. He says “the important thing is fiscal discipline”.

More from the new chancellor now.

While we were collecting information on the latest resignations, Nadhim Zahawi has been telling BBC's Radio 4 that he will be the “evidence-led chancellor” and his focus is set on "bearing down inflation".

He denies he has been appointed because he believes tax cuts are needed to grow the economy, and says his focus is to rebuild the economy and return to growth.

“I am determined to deliver,” he adds.

And now, another resignation.

Children's minister Will Quince has gone.

Tweeting his resignation letter, he said: "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."

On Monday in media interviews, Mr Quince said he had been given assurances that the prime minister had not been aware of complaints against Chris Pincher.

It later emerged this was not true.

More now from Laura Trott, who just announced she was resigning as a ministerial aide in the Department for Transport.

In her resignation letter, posted on her Facebook, external account, Trott, the MP for Sevenoaks, said trust in politics was of the "upmost importance", adding "but sadly in recent months this has been lost".

Image source, Reuters

Nadhim Zahawi has been denying reports he threatened to resign from the cabinet to secure the role of Chancellor.

Asked by Sky News if Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was reportedly in line for Chancellor but Zahawi said he would step down if he did not get the job, he says: "No, I didn't threaten to resign at all, That is not true."

He adds: "This is a team game, you deliver for the nation."

We've just had another resignation from government.

Laura Trott, a parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Transport, says she has resigned.

Parliamentary secretaries are appointed by ministers to serve as their assistants and are serving MPs.

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

Resigning as chancellor, Rishi Sunak said he felt his approach to the economy was "fundamentally too different" to that of Boris Johnson.

Coming into No 11 just before the start of the pandemic, Mr Sunak spent his time expanding the state, with record levels if public spending.

Now however, he was keen to draw a line and roll back the support which had made him popular with voters, including cutting the temporary uplift in universal credit.

He also introduced hikes in taxes, and was criticised over rises in National Insurance in April. Employees, employers and the self-employed now all pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance.

Without Mr Sunak, and with a new chancellor, the PM will find it easier to tax less, perhaps spend more and so borrow more. There is talk of cuts to VAT.

Read more, here.

Nadhim Zahawi has also been talking about the event that brought things to a head last night - what the PM knew about Chris Pincher, who resigned as chief whip after allegations of sexual misconduct.

He says the prime minister has acknowledged he made a mistake in appointing Chris Pincher. “We make these decisions at warp speed and we don’t always get them right,” he says

But he defended Johnson to remain in the role saying “the way I'd sum up the PM’s focus is “delivery, delivery, delivery”.

When asked about a YouGov poll saying 69% of the public don't want Johnson to stay at No 10, he says the party needs to unite.