We've just been hearing that Bim Afolami, Conservative party's vice chair, has resigned during an interview on TalkTV.

We have pictures of Prime Minister Boris Johnson returning to Downing Street now.

He's back there after learning of the resignation of two of the most senior people in his top team, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid.

We've now heard from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, soon after she left No 10.

She says she is "100%" behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson, adding that he "consistently gets all big decisions right".

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was seen leaving No 10 a little earlier, in a ministerial car.

The Johnson loyalist has come out to defend the prime minister on many occasions in recent months as he has come under pressure from others in the Tory party.

The former deputy PM Michael Heseltine - who famously challenged Margaret Thatcher for the Conservative leadership back in 1990 - tells the BBC that he thinks the Tory party will get rid of the prime minister:

At a public event, 12 people came up to the Tory grandee to ask him what was going to happen to the party, he says.

"It was like a boil about to burst - you knew that something dramatic was about to happen."

The Tory party has an instinct for survival, and they know that under Boris they will not win the next election, he says.

Image source, PA

Reacting to news of the double Cabinet resignations this evening, the leader of the Scottish conservatives, Douglas Ross, said his views had not changed since he voted against Boris Johnson in a confidence vote last month.

The prime minister won the confidence vote just one month ago. Johnson received the support of 211 of the 359 Conservative MPs, with 148 voting against him.

Under the current rules, the PM cannot now face another confidence vote for a further 12 months.

The Westminster rumour mill is swirling with names of those who might follow Sunak and Javid out of the Cabinet Room door. But what of those who may stay in government and not resign this evening?

Our political correspondents hear the following names look likely to stay put:

• Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
• Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
• Home Secretary Priti Patel
• Justice Secretary Dominic Raab
• International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan
• Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg
• Scotland Secretary Alister Jack
• Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis
• Wales Secretary Simon Hart

No word from many of their cabinet colleagues yet though...here's the full line-up., external

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a bit more from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

He says: "It's clear that this government is now collapsing."

Starmer says Cabinet ministers who have resigned have been "complicit", as the PM "disgraced his office".

In a statement, he says: "After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, it's clear that this government is now collapsing. Tory Cabinet ministers have known all along who this prime minister is."

"They have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga", Starmer adds.

"The British public will not be fooled. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man won't fix that.

"Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs", he says.

Nick Watt
Political editor, BBC Newsnight

One of Boris Johnson’s closest allies tells me: "It will all be over by this time tomorrow.

"No PM can survive the resignation of two senior cabinet ministers like that."

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey has tweeted that the prime minister should "go and go now".

His words echoed those of Lib Dem MP Richard Foord when he triumphantly defeated the Conservatives to win the by-election in Tiverton and Honiton last month.

"You have discredited our great country long enough," wrote Sir Ed on Twitter, as news of the two major Cabinet resignations broke.

Image source, Reuters

Health Secretary Sajid Javid says he can no longer serve in Boris Johnson's government in "good conscience". With Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, also quitting, Boris Johnson is in a difficult situation.

Setting out his decision to quit in a letter, Javid says:

The man who used to be in charge of Conservative Party discipline in the House of Commons has praised the chancellor and health secretary for quitting Boris Johnson's cabinet.

Former Chief Whip Mark Harper tweeted:, external "Tonight we have seen leadership from Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid.

"Honourable decisions made by honourable men. The Conservative Party still has so much to offer to our country. It’s time for a fresh start."

Potential collapse of the government playing out before our eyespublished at 18:37 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

18:37 BST 5 July 2022

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Toby Melville/PA Wire

What we are witnessing tonight - playing out before our eyes minute by minute - is the potential collapse of the government.

Two resignations in the space of the last half hour, in the most stinging terms.

Resignation letters, from the chancellor and the health secretary, saying that they cannot, in all good conscience, continue to serve the government.

This matters because if these resignations continue it could make it very, very difficult for Boris Johnson to carry on as prime minister.

Senior Labour MP and Chair of the Commons Standards Committee Chris Bryant has just tweeted his reaction to Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak's resignations.

He has called for a general election, saying: "All these people should have resigned months ago. They should never have put him in Downing Street in the first place. They have been complicit throughout."

In another tweet, he adds:

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told journalists that ministers should act in the national interest to remove Prime Minister Boris Johnson from office.

Starmer says they should resign or force him to resign.

PM finds himself in a very precarious positionpublished at 18:30 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

18:30 BST 5 July 2022

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

The prime minister finds himself in a very precarious position after the resignation of two of the key ministers in his government.

News of two cabinet resignations in the wake of a few very difficult days for Johnson and his government will have left him wondering if he can continue with any kind of authority.

To lose one Cabinet minister might have been survivable but, arguably, losing two of the biggest jobs in government might not be.

Rishi Sunak has just resigned from the cabinet.

In his letter he says "the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously".

He adds: "I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning".

Sunak says "our country is facing immense challenges".

"I publicly 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."

"I am sad to be leaving government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this", he adds.

We're now hearing that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has also resigned, saying the public expect government to be conducted "properly, competently and seriously".

We now have a bit more from Sajid Javid's letter of resignation as a member of Boris Johnson's government.

He starts saying: "It was a privilege to have been asked to come back into government to serve as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care at such a critical time for our country."

But, he adds: "We [Conservative party] 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.

"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."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has just resigned from his role, saying he has "lost confidence" in Boris Johnson.