Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan has revealed she stepped down as Education Secretary less than 48 hours after accepting the post from Boris Johnson as “he wouldn’t be making good decisions and something awful could have happened”.

Donelan, 38, who this week became the shortest-ever serving Secretary of State for Education, told an audience of students at St Laurence School, Bradford on Avon, “I left because I felt he needed to step down.”

During a visit to the secondary school on Friday morning which lasted more than two hours, she also said she would accept post of Education Secretary again under a new Prime Minister, stating: “When there is a new leader, I would love to be the new Secretary of State for Education.” and that improving the UK’s education is her “passion” and the “reason {she} went into politics”.

Donelan told an audience of year seven and year 12 pupils that she had supported the PM and all Conservative MPs “knew Johnson’s character when he was voted in”.

But for Donelan the Pincher scandal was the “final straw”.

She said: "If Johnson knew, if he had substantiated claims, then that’s not the type of person who should be running the country.”

Ms Donelan described the events of last week as having been “awful”, expressing that for one day, she got her dream of being Secretary of State for Education.

But she said she made the decision to resign when “it came to the point that there were not enough Ministers to run the country and the situation became dangerous.”

“We look absolutely bonkers to the entire world now.” She added.

Even after the resignations of more than fifty conservative MPs including former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid[CC1] , Donelan believed that it was still possible for the Government to run and that she took the job as Education Secretary due to her increased concern after two years of chaotic exam results days.

“I wanted the department to be run by someone who knew what was going on," she said.

However, with so many of her colleagues resigning, Ms Donelan states that she found the situation “ridiculous”, so met with the Prime Minister to communicate her concerns and tell him that the “honourable thing” to do was to step down, despite the fact that she would be made to “look like an idiot.”

Referencing her attempt to convince Johnson to resign, she encouraged the crowd on Friday to interact by stating that they could be brave and ask questions if she could “tell the Prime Minister he’s gotta go”.

On her thoughts about the Prime Minister from a moral perspective, Donelan at first listed “incredible things” Johnson had done that she considered to have been beneficial to this country, such as his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the quality of his manifesto.

“I may not be the Prime Minister’s favourite person right now” the MP added upon reflection.

During a second question-and-answer session with students, she said her appointment as Secretary of State for Education was what she had always dreamt of but she “wanted to make sure children came first”.

She also told students she didn’t want the £16k payout she is reportedly eligible for as severance pay for her two-day stint as Education Secretary.

“I don't want any severance pay" she said. “If I am eligible, don't give it to me." She added, "If I have to have it, I'll give it to charity."