A key ally of the Prime Minister has insisted the Tories are “stronger together as one Conservative family”, as reports indicate Boris Johnson has lost the support of another senior MP amid the partygate saga.
Michael Gove made clear Mr Johnson still has his “100%” support, despite former minister Tobias Ellwood claiming it is “just horrible” for MPs to have to defend the situation to the public.
Mr Ellwood, a former defence minister and the Tory MP for Bournemouth East, confirmed he will be submitting a formal letter stating he has no confidence in Mr Johnson.
It comes after the Daily Telegraph reported the Prime Minister was seen heading up to his Downing Street flat on the night it hosted a gathering being investigated by the Met.
Mr Gove said: “We should be as a Conservative team recognising that we are stronger together, stronger together as a United Kingdom, stronger together as one Conservative family.”
His comments came as Stephen Kerr, the Scottish Conservative chief whip at Holyrood, said the party is now suffering “the agony of this drip, drip approach of revelation upon revelation”.
Scottish Conservatives, including their leader Douglas Ross have called for the Prime Minister to go and Mr Kerr said he does not think there is “much more” the party north of the border can do.
“It is really a matter that is going to be resolved by our colleagues in Westminster,” he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme.
“They need to evaluate the information that is coming to them, in terms of the much reduced Sue Gray report but also the other information that is coming to light day by day, the agony of this drip, drip approach of revelation upon revelation.
“And really it’s a matter for their leadership and judgment.”
However Mr Gove was clear he still backs Mr Johnson, describing him as a “great Prime Minister”.
Asked if the PM still has his support, Mr Gove said: “Totally, 100%.
“I have been working with him for more than two years now, I have seen how at the height of the pandemic he was laser-focused on making sure we could get the vaccines that we needed.”
The Levelling Up Secretary said when investigations by the Metropolitan Police are concluded “then we can make a judgment about who did what”.
He added: “You asked if I had confidence in the Prime Minister and I was just going to point one thing out for balance, because there is a lot of criticism that has been made and apologies have been given.
“But I think the UK as a whole, and it was a cross-UK effort, all four governments working together, managed to procure the vaccines as a result of the Prime Minister setting up the vaccines taskforce. That meant we had the fastest vaccination and the fastest booster programme in Europe.
“That meant that the whole of the United Kingdom came out of the pandemic together faster.”
He insisted Mr Johnson believes Mr Ross is doing a “fantastic job” – despite the Scottish Conservative leader having previously declared his position as PM is no longer tenable.
While those remarks led to Mr Ross being branded a “lightweight” in the party by Jacob Rees-Mogg, Mr Gove insisted: “In my opinion Douglas is a super-heavyweight.
“Douglas Ross is a friend of mine, he is a brilliant leader of the Scottish Conservatives, he does a fantastic job.
“Speaking for myself and I know for the Prime Minister as well, we think Douglas is a fantastic champion for Scotland, he holds the First Minister rigorously to account and he has the right policy agenda for the future of Scotland.”
