It was another turbulent day in Downing Street on Thursday, as four senior aides to Boris Johnson resigned within hours of each other.

First, policy chief Munira Mirza stepped down, saying it was wrong for the prime minister to accuse Sir Keir Starmer of not prosecuting Jimmy Savile while director of public prosecutions. “This was not the usual cut and thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse,” Ms Mirza said in her resignation letter. Read our Reality Check on the prime minister’s claims here.
Soon after, communications chief Jack Doyle stepped down, followed by chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and senior civil servant Martin Reynolds. It was Mr Reynolds who sent the infamous “bring your own booze” invitation in May 2020 – and our political editor Laura Kuenssberg says “two very different things” happened on Thursday.
“Three paid the price for the fiasco over lockdown gatherings - one sending the invitation to the garden drinks, the other two crafting Boris Johnson's bungled response to weeks of damaging claims.
"But the resignation of Munira Mirza is of a very different order. For more than 10 years she's been one of Mr Johnson's true political friends - described as 'Boris's brain' by one former colleague.”

The Conservatives have retained the seat of Southend West in a by-election triggered by the fatal stabbing of MP Sir David Amess. Anna Firth won with 12,792 votes, amid a low turnout of 24%. The election was not contested by Labour, the Liberal Democrats or the Greens. Jason Pilley of the Psychedelic Movement came second with 512 votes; UKIP's Steve Laws was third with 400. There were 1,084 spoilt ballot papers. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, from Kentish Town in north London, denies Sir David’s murder and is due to stand trial next month.

In order to stop prices rising out of control, workers should not ask for big pay rises, the Bank of England governor has told the BBC. Andrew Bailey was speaking after the Bank raised interest rates to 0.5% in an attempt to reduce spending and, with it, inflation. Asked if the Bank was also implicitly asking workers not to demand big pay rises, he said: "Broadly, yes."
Inflation is on course to rise above 7% this year. On Thursday, the energy price cap rose by almost £700 for the average household – although the government did announce a £350 support package. However, £200 of that is repayable, and the other £150 applies only to houses in council tax bands A to D.

Two stories dominate Friday’s front pages – the resignations from the prime minister’s team and the cost of living crisis. The Daily Mail says there was “meltdown in Downing Street”, before asking: “Will the last one to leave please turn out the lights”. The Sun combines both stories with a single-word headline – “Ouch!” – while the Metro says the increase in bills and tax is the “perfect storm”. Read all the front pages here.

The remains of a woolly mammoth have been found in a cave near Plymouth, during work to build a new town. Remains of a woolly rhinoceros, wolf, and hyena were also found. The bones are thought to be between 30,000 and 60,000 years old – with one archaeologist calling it a find of “national significance”. But if you think that’s old…
A one billion-year-old black diamond is expected to fetch £4.4m at auction in London. The diamond weighs the same as a banana, and online bidding closes next week. Good luck!

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