Hexham MP Guy Opperman has become the latest Tory minister to resign from Boris Johnson's Government.
Mr Opperman, who had served as pensions minister, said the Prime Minister had left he and his colleagues with "no choice" other than to resign in order to force the PM's own resignation. Mr Opperman has previously criticised Boris Johnson over scandals such as Partygate - highlighting his own anguish at suffering the deaths of newborn twin boys during the pandemic.
But he had until now stopped short of calling for Mr Johnson to resign. However, after 24 hours which has seen more then 50 ministers and Government officials step down, Mr Opperman has added his name to the list. However, he said he had made the call with "great regret".
Read more: Boris Johnson LIVE: Updates as more ministers including Hexham's Guy Opperman resign from Government
Posting a resignation letter on Twitter, Mr Opperman wrote: "I resign with great regret, given there are serious ongoing issues that need addressing ranging from cost of living support, to legislation, & parliamentary debates. It should not take the resignation of 50 colleagues, but sadly the PM has left us no choice. He needs to resign."
In his letter to the PM, he added: "I have given you ample opportunity to show real change. Sadly, recent events have shown clearly that the Government simply cannot function with you in charge. In good faith and for the good of the country, I must ask you to stand down. No one individual, however successful in the past, is bigger than the party, or this great country."
Mr Opperman became the fifth Government figure to resign on Thursday morning - following fellow ministers including Helen Whately, Brandon Lewis, George Freeman and Damian Hinds. He was soon followed by Chris Philp. As it stands, the Prime Minister has refused to resign.
The wave of resignations was triggered when Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday evening over the PM's handling of complaints made of sexual assault against then-deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Since then, Boris Johnson has resisted calls to go from a huge number of members of his own party.
Speaking in April, Mr Opperman said the war in Ukraine was the reason behind his continued backing for Boris Johnson. Previously he had been fiercely critical of his conduct, though continued to serve in Government. Mr Opperman said in January that he was "pretty emotional" to hear of the parties which took place during the pandemic in Downing Street - while his own family was suffering heartbreak.
He said at the time: "In May 2020 my wife and kids were unwell and they went to hospital. I was not able to go there to support them.
"And I've got constituents who couldn't go to the care homes, to funerals who were obviously obeying the rules and quite clearly in No 10 at that time there were a number of people not behaving appropriately."
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