Another Tory MP has announced they have submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said the partygate allegations and the subsequent handout of the fallout had made the prime minister’s position “untenable”.
The latest tally shows 13 Tory MPs have now publicly called for the PM to go, with eight saying they have sent letters of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 Committee. 54 lettes are needed to trigger a leadership contest.
It comes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid today became the second senior minister to distance himself from Mr Johnson's controversial attack on Sir Keir Starmer.
His comments came after Munira Mirza, the former head of the No 10 policy unit and one of Mr Johnson’s most longstanding advisers, revealed she quit over his Jimmy Savile “smear” against Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak also distanced himself from the Prime Minister's attacks, saying he would not have made the comments.
