MICHAEL Gove’s parting words to the Prime Minister as he was ruthlessly sacked on Wednesday have been revealed.
The former Secretary of State was unceremoniously dumped by Boris Johnson amid a tidal wave of resignations which resulted in him announcing he would step down.
Gove was the only member of the Government to be fired while nearly 60 ministers and others on the Government payroll voluntarily stepped down.
His former wife Sarah Vine (below) revealed in her regular Daily Mail column published on Friday he had told Johnson to step down – and decided to unwind after the knife was turned against him with a glass of wine and a slice of salami.
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Vine, a journalist who often chronicled her experiences of being married to the former Levelling Up Secretary, said she spoke with Gove immediately after he took the fateful call with Johnson.
Quoting him directly, she wrote: “The Prime Minister rang me a few minutes ago and told me it was time for me to step back. I said, respectfully, Prime Minister, if anyone should be stepping back, it is you.”
She then asked Gove: “What are you going to do now?”
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He responded: “Have a glass of wine and a slice of salami and see what tomorrow brings.”
The surprise move was the latest twist in the often difficult relationship between the two men, with Johnson’s first leadership campaign in 2016 derailed when Gove withdrew support and decided to run himself.
Before announcing he would resign, a No 10 source justified the move against Gove, describing him as a “snake” to members of the press.
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