Will Quince, a junior education minister, has resigned from his post, dealing a further blow to Boris Johnson's Government.

The resignation is made more noteworthy as Mr Quince defended Boris Johnson on Monday (July 4) over claims the Prime Minister knew about the background of MP Chris Pincher before he appointed him as deputy chief whip.

Mr Pincher stepped down from his position last week due to allegedly groping two men at a private members club.

Mr Quince had said that Mr Johnson was "not aware" of any prior claims against Mr Pincher's behaviour, but has since said he has found that to be "inaccurate".

In a post on Twitter Mr Quince wrote: "With great sadness and regret, I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated assurances on Monday to the media which have now been found to be inaccurate.

"I wish my successor well - it is the best job in government."

His resignation follows a slew of others that came yesterday (Tuesday, July 5) including from the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Will Quince's resignation letter in full

“Dear Prime Minister. Thank you for meeting with me yesterday evening and for your sincere apology regarding the briefings I received from No 10 ahead of Monday’s media round, which we now know to be inaccurate.

“It is with great sadness and regret that I feel that I have no choice but to tender my resignation as minister for children and families as I accepted and repeated those assurances in good faith.

“It has been an honour to serve in government since 2019 at both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education.

“Reaching this decision has not been easy. Stepping away from a job I love, where we are working every day to improve the life chances of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people up and down our country, pains me greatly.

“I will miss it hugely but pledge to do all I can to continue this important work from the backbenches.

“I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my sincere thanks to the hundreds of dedicated and hard-working civil servants with whom it has been a pleasure to work.”