A third Tory MP has called for Boris Johnson to step down in wake of the Sue Gray report into parties in Downing Street and Whitehall during the covid lockdown.
David Simmonds MP said while the government enjoys public confidence “the Prime Minister does not”, reigniting the partygate scandal just as the Prime Minister attempts to move on from the Sue Gray report.
Simmonds said: “It is time for him to step down so new leadership can take forward the important work of government.”
Simmonds joined backbencher Julian Sturdy who described partygate as a “distraction” in an online comment on Tuesday evening and John Baron who on Wednesday morning announced that he is withdrawing support from Johnson.
Baron said that the contents of the shocking report on the extent of rule-breaking reported by Sue Gray report yesterday, mean can no longer continue to support Boris Johnson.
The long-standing Brexit supporter and MP for Basildon and Billericay said that the most serious charge against Johnson was “that of knowingly misleading parliament”, a claim that is still to be investigated by a Commons committee.
In a statement Baron said: “Given the scale of rule breaking in No 10, I can not accept that the Prime Minister was unaware. Therefore, his repeated assurances in parliament that there was no rule-breaking is simply not credible...
"A bedrock principle of our constitution is that we can trust the responses receive in parliament to be truthful and accurate. Parliament is the beating heart of our nation.
"To knowingly mislead it can not be tolerated, no matter the issue. Whether or not the Prime Minister is an asset to the party or the country of less importance.
"Having always said I would consider all the available evidence before deciding, I’m afraid the prime minister no longer enjoys my support - I can no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.”
It takes 54 letters of no confidence to trigger a leadership challenge against the Prime Minister
The fear in Downing Street will be that the trickle of protest will turn into a torrent of demands from backbenchers for Johnson to go.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
