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'Dead man walking' - Britons assess UK PM's future

STORY: Although some said time had run out for Johnson, others cited his handling of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as points in his favour.

Johnson's finance and health ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid quit on Tuesday (July 5), along with several in more junior roles, saying they could no longer stay in government after the latest in a series of scandals blighted his administration.

In London, former supporter of Johnson and staunch Conservative voter, 59-year-old construction project manager Joe Parker, said the government was "in disarray" and that "Boris has got to go."

However 69-year-old banker Richard Schuster was among those who stayed loyal to Johnson, saying, "I think he should stay because I think he's done an amazing job over Brexit, COVID, and doing very well over Ukraine. And everybody has faults, but I think he has better attributes than faults."

Meanwhile in Manchester, "dead man walking" were the phrase used to describe the embattled prime minister by 41-year-old consultant Craig Haslam.

"I'm just surprised he's still there," 49-year-old registrar Ros Sweeney added when speaking to Reuters.

Johnson's leadership has been mired in scandals and missteps over the last few months, with the prime minister fined by police for breaking COVID-19 lockdown laws and a damning report published about the behaviour of officials at his Downing Street office who breached lockdown rules.

The latest scandal saw Johnson apologising for appointing lawmaker Chris Pincher to a role involved in offering pastoral care and handling party discipline, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct.