A Tory cabinet minister has said the latest official Partygate investigation into Boris Johnson's conduct will be "the most looked at event since the Second World War".
Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns claimed there is "no question" of the Prime Minister standing down over Downing Street lockdown parties even after more veteran Tories have expressed their desire for Mr Johnson to quit.
In the Commons yesterday Steve Baker, who played a key role in bringing down Theresa May, told the PM: "The gig's up".
William Wragg, Tory chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, used a scathing speech to confirm he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership.
Tobias Ellwood this morning claimed the PM's vote of no confidence is a question of "when, not if".
Despite growing calls for the PM to stand down, Mr Burns told Sky News: "The Prime Minister is looking forward to this ending.
"He is looking forward to drawing this to a conclusion, for it to be examined fully so that we can move on to the things people are genuinely concerned about.”
Mr Burns denied Tories had tried to delay the investigation into claims Mr Johnson had misled Parliament, claiming there was confusion and "concern" that the Privileges Committee would begin their inquiry before the Sue Gray report was published.
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News: “If they had the numbers they would have defeated the motion yesterday.
“They actually put forward a wrecking amendment on the day to try and scupper the whole thing, and yet they couldn’t even with a majority of 80 get that through, so they pulled it out last minute."
Describing the toxic atmosphere Mr Johnson's leadership had created, Tory William Wragg told MPs: "I cannot reconcile myself to the Prime Minister's continued leadership of our country and the Conservative Party," he told the Commons.
He revealed that many Tory MPs are “struggling” with Partygate in the face of fury from their constituents.
“We bear the scars of misjudgements of leadership," he blasted.
"There can be few colleagues who are truly enjoying being MPs at the moment.
"It is utterly depressing to be asked to defend the indefensible”.
