Boris Johnson pleaded with brother Jo not to quit in a desperate phone call, it has been claimed.
The Prime Minister is said to have urged his brother to sleep on it and reconsider his decision, in a lengthy phone call overnight.
But Jo decided to continue with his bombshell resignation - and according to the Sun, Boris didn't even tell top aides it was coming.
Number 10 was completely blindsided by the bombshell, which dropped mid-way through a lobby briefing for journalists.
The Orpington MP said he had been "torn between family loyalty and the national interest" but that it was "time for others " to take on his role.
The Universities and Science minister had previously quit the government when Theresa May as PM over her handling of Brexit .
Remainer Jo Johnson added that it had been an "honour" to serve his constituents since 2009.
The departure is a severe blow to Boris Johnson at a time when he’s alienated the moderate wing of his party by expelling 21 MPs on Tuesday because they voted against the government.
In his six weeks since becoming PM, Boris Johnson has lost every Parliamentary vote he has held, expelled 21 members of his own party, and now lost his brothers support.
Mr Johnson supports a second referendum on Brexit, so his decision to serve in his brother’s Hard Brexit government raised eyebrows.
Mr Johnson's tweet read: “In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest,” Jo Johnson said on Twitter . “It’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout.”
