Boris Johnson news latest: PM quotes Lion King to stop staff leaving as fifth aide quits No 10

In a pep talk designed to stop more staff leaving, he said: “Change is necessary even though it’s tough” – said by Rafiki in the film.

Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

The cost-of-living squeeze affecting UK households will continue for two years , the governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Andrew Bailey said inflation was not expected to return to normal levels until early 2024, with pay rise struggling to keep up.

Mr Bailey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is going to be a difficult period ahead, I readily admit, because we all get we are already seeing and we’re going to see a reduction in real income.

“Based on what we see today, I would expect that, so we’re going to start coming out of it in 2023, and two years from now we expect we’ll be back on to a more stable – certainly inflation – back to a more stable position.”

Boris Johnson has suffered a major blow as his policy chief and long-standing adviser, Munira Mirza, quit No 10 in protest at the prime minister’s “scurrilous” Jimmy Savile smear against Sir Keir Starmer.

The backroom operator and key member of Mr Johnson’s inner circle first joined No 10 in July 2019 and was pictured among staff who flanked the prime minister as he gave his first speech to the nation from Downing Street.

What else do we know about Ms Mirza? Our politics correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:

A high court judge has blocked a move by the DUP to suspend Brexit checks in Northern Ireland.

Mr Justice Colton has issued an interim order suspending a decision by agriculture minister Edwin Poots to order a stop to agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports until a judicial review against the DUP minister’s decision can be heard in full.

Health secretary Sajid Javid has said Sir Keir Starmer deserved “absolute respect” for the job he did as director of public prosecutions.#

Mr Javid said that it was important that Boris Johnson has “clarified” his earlier accusation that Sir Keir had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

“Keir Starmer, when he was running the DPP, did a good job and he should be respected for it, It is a tough job and he deserved absolute respect for that,” he told Sky News.

“But the Prime Minister has also come out and clarified those remarks, and that is important.”

Bookmakers have slashed the odds on Boris Johnson facing a no confidence vote following the resignations of a number of top aides.

Gambling firm BetFair says there is now a 38 per cent that the prime minister will face a leadership contest as soon as this month.

This is up by 9 per cent from before the No 10 exodus, BetFair said.

Mary Lou McDonald has renewed her call for an early election in Northern Ireland following the resignation of DUP First Minister Paul Givan.

The Sinn Fein leader also indicated she believes an election should be held in a matter of weeks, instead of in May as currently scheduled.

She said the Executive has been rendered “toothless” by the DUP protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.

She told RTE radio: “I just don’t believe that, given that the Executive is now rendered toothless, you can simply stagger on for a number of months when we need the Budget and when we need decisions to be taken.

“I think the wise course of action is for the Assembly to work very intensively, perhaps over a number of weeks, to get the outstanding and important legislation over the line. And then I think the election needs to be moved forward.

“We certainly shouldn’t be staggering on until May.”

Nine in 10 say the PM should resign if it is found he knowingly lied or mislead parliament, according to a survey.

According to a poll by Univox, 90 per cent of people surveyed think Johnson should quit if this is the case.

Some 8 per cent said he shouldn’t against 2 per cent who said they were unsure.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that his party has been “very patient” around talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The DUP leader was speaking to RTE following the resignation of DUP First Minister Paul Givan, which automatically removed Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill from her position.

“The Assembly has not been suspended. The Assembly continues to operate fully as a legislature. Legislation will be considered in the Assembly right up to the date when the assembly is dissolved for the election. I think that we have been very patient,” he said.

He said that the protocol is causing “societal damage” to Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey added: “We waited months and months and months, and no progress has been made in the talks between the UK and the EU.

“Last week I met the Prime Minister in London. I asked the Prime Minister what his assessment was of the likelihood of agreement being reached with the EU by the deadline set by the EU, which is mid-February. The Prime Minister told me – I appreciate his candour – that he estimated probably between 20% and 30% chance of an agreement.”

Northern Ireland justice minister and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long claimed Paul Givan’s resignation was “a fairly cynical electoral manoeuvre from the DUP”.

She added: “It stops us being able to make progress for people in Northern Ireland and there comes a point where if we are going to be serious about politics we need to be able to work through our difficulties.

“I am not denying there is a problem, I have never denied there is an issue with the protocol.

“I think it is as a direct consequence of Brexit that we are in this mess, which the DUP campaigned for and supported.

“We need to be really clear about how we ended up where we are.

“I am not denying there is a problem, but that problem won’t be solved by the Northern Ireland Executive not being able to meet.”