Why Chancellor Sajid Javid handed in his resignation to Boris Johnson a month before the budget

It started well but then Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid’s meeting descended into acrimony.

It was shortly after 11am that the meeting between Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid in the cabinet room descended into acrimony. For over half an hour, all had appeared well. Mr Johnson has told Mr Javid that he was the best man for the job of chancellor and said he could not have won the election without him.

The two men discussed the budget and their plans to “level up” Britain. The tensions of recent weeks between the two men appeared to have dissipated.

Towards the end of the meeting, however, Mr Johnson dropped a bombshell. He told Mr Javid that he wanted to set up a joint economic unit between No 10 and No 11. Mr Javid would have a role in selecting who sat on the unit, but he would have to sack his advisers. The chancellor refused outright.

“He was very firm,” a source close to Mr Javid said. “He told the prime minister that this was not something any self-respecting minister could accept. Ministers and chancellors should be in a position to appoint their own advisers. He said he could not countenance it.”

Mr Javid then demanded: “What are they accused of?” Sources said that no reply was forthcoming from Mr Johnson. For the chancellor, the move appeared to be about control. Downing Street was mounting an extraordinary power grab and he was being left with no choice but to quit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid as they visit Curzon Street railway station in Birmingham, central England on February 11.

Also in the cabinet room with Mr Johnson and Mr Javid were Lee Cain, the prime minister’s head of communications, Sir Eddie Lister, a senior adviser to Mr Johnson, and Helen MacNamara, the head of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office. Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s most senior adviser, who has clashed repeatedly with Mr Javid, was not present.

Mr Johnson told Mr Javid to go to an adjacent room as he decided what to do. Mark Spencer, the chief whip, and Sir Eddie were both dispatched to attempt to persuade him to stay on. They did not succeed and Mr Javid was taken for a final meeting with Mr Johnson in the prime minister’s study.

It ended with his resignation. “The PM thought that in Sajid he could have the same relationship that David Cameron had with George Osborne,” a source said. “It didn’t work out. This isn’t about personnel so much as outcomes. We want to be able to work as a close-knit team to deliver on the levelling-up agenda and infrastructure.”

Rumours were already swirling. Ministers including Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, and Priti Patel, the home secretary, were left waiting for their reappointment meeting with the prime minister as the meeting with Mr Javid ran on for almost an hour.

The news finally broke at 11.49am and Downing Street did not waste any time. Less than 15 minutes later Rishi Sunak, the 39-year-old chief secretary to the Treasury, was confirmed as Mr Javid’s successor. Mr Javid’s tenure as chancellor had come to an end in only 204 days, the shortest since 1970.

Rishi Sunak, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer leaves 10 Downing Street.

Sajid Javid resigned in a shock move just a month before the budget.

His resignation threatens to shatter a series of friendships. On the weekend after the election Mr Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, attended Mr Javid’s 50th birthday party at the five-star St James’ Court hotel in Westminster. Ms Symonds is a personal friend of Mr Javid and previously worked for him as his special adviser.

Mr Javid and his wife, Laura, sat next to Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds on the central table as they watched the chancellor’s children give a series of speeches about their father. “It was a great night,” one of those present said.

Beneath the surface, however, the relationship between Mr Javid and Mr Johnson had become strained. Mr Cummings was at the heart of their disagreements.

In August last year Mr Cummings fired Sonia Khan, one of Mr Javid’s advisers without informing Mr Javid.

During the election campaign the two men were at loggerheads over plans for fiscal rules in the Tory manifesto. Mr Cummings is said to have wanted looser fiscal rules to help the prime minister to fulfil his vision of “levelling up” the country.

Mr Javid objected, and pushed for conditions that would balance the books. He won the argument but the row was not forgotten.

In recent weeks there was further consternation in Downing Street as Mr Javid made the front pages of national newspapers after it emerged that he was supporting HS2, days before the official decision had been made.

Tensions increased last week when reports emerged that the Treasury was considering slashing pension tax relief and introducing a new mansion tax.

Mr Cummings and Mr Javid also clashed over the next governor of the Bank of England. Mr Cummings wanted to install Andy Haldane. Mr Javid, however, backed Andrew Bailey who eventually secured the post.

The Times