A Tory MP today became the first to suggest Boris Johnson should resign over his Partygate fine - breaking ranks from obedient Conservatives.
Some of the MPs who called for the PM to quit earlier this year have now backtracked, claiming the Ukraine war is the wrong time for a leadership contest.
But one of them, Nigel Mills, said people were “rightly angry” that the Prime Minister did not have the “decency or sense” to follow his own Covid rules while they did.
Asked if he should resign, Mr Mills told BBC Radio Derby: “In all conscience I don’t think a prime minister can survive or should survive breaking the rules he put in place and he was on the TV every few nights reminding us all that we should observe.
“We have to have higher standards than that of people at the top.
“He has been fined, I don’t think his position is tenable, in my view.”
But Mr Mills admitted it appeared Mr Johnson would not resign as he had the majority of the Conservative MPs behind him.
He said: “It seems pretty clear he’s not going to resign and I would be very surprised if there were 180 of my colleagues who wanted to change Prime Minister at this stage.”
Mr Mills said a war was “not an easy” time to change leader, but France is currently having an election and “there’s no particular reason why we couldn’t do a change if we wanted to.”
Shameless Tory MPs last night rallied round the Prime Minister despite Boris Johnson accepting his Partygate fine for breaking the law.
Cabinet ministers including Nadine Dorries, Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng supported the Prime Minister after he apologised for attending a lockdown-breaking birthday bash.
But as of 9.30am today, law and order chief Priti Patel - who said she’d call police if her neighbours broke lockdown laws - was awkwardly silent.
The PM, his wife and Chancellor RIshi Sunak all paid a £50 fine after gathering in the Cabinet room for Mr Johnson's birthday on 19 June 2020.
They met indoors and sang Happy Birthday while indoor social gatherings and singing were illegal.
Last night the PM apologised - but claimed he didn't know it was breaking the law, and refused to quit.
Former Cabinet minister Lord David Frost said Boris Johnson’s desire for people to “move on” is not “quite good enough” and demanded he explain himself in Parliament.
He warned the scandal will “dog the PM” unless he can explain himself. But he told LBC one police fine was not grounds for resignation in itself.
And as Cabinet ministers rallied round their boss, Tory Edwina Currie boasted “I don’t care, I really don’t care” that Boris Johnson broke the law and lied because the Tories will win elections anyway.
