LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Two more Conservative MPs have announced that they have written letters of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Steve Brine, former health minister and Anne Marie Morris, Newton Abbot MPÂ are among the six backbenchers who have publicly urged him to step down as party leader.
The news follows senior civil servant Sue Gray’s investigation into Downing Street lockdown parties.
According to the BBC, about 20 Tory MPs have written letters, falling short of the 54 required to trigger a vote on the Prime Minister.
Only Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbenchers’ committee in 1922, knows the exact figure, which could be higher.
Winchester MP Brine said in a statement to residents that he couldn’t any longer “defend the indefensible” because those who made rules couldn’t break it.
MP Paul Holmes resigned from the government on Friday, stating that he was “shocked and appalled” by the happenings at Number 10.
Mr Holmes quit as a parliamentary private secretary to Home Secretary Priti Patel, a ministerial assistant.
He told the BBC that the conclusions in Ms Gray’s long-awaited investigation, which was released this week, made him very uncomfortable.
Sir Bob Neill, former junior minister has also called on the PM to resign in the wake of the report, which has been met with a letter of no confidence.
The investigation highlighted a pattern of completely reprehensible behaviour, according to Sir Bob, the Tory MP for Bromley & Chislehurst.
Alicia Kearns, another Conservative MP, made a statement repeating that her position has remained “unchanged” since January, noting that the PM continued to have lost his trust.
The PM’s explanation of events to Parliament had been misleading, the MP for Rutland and Melton concluded, adding that the “protracted affair had brought their government and his party into disrepute.
John Glen, Treasury minister stated on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions on Friday that the PM was in “yellow card area,” but that he would “go on and deliver” as part of the government.
Many gatherings held during the Covid limitations “should not have been allowed,” according to Ms Gray’s research, and the PM and his officials needed to bear responsibility for that culture.
She also discovered many cases of authorities’ lack of respect and terrible treatment of security and cleaning employees during meetings.
Sir Bob told the BBC that he had decided to ask for Mr Johnson’s resignation after meeting with constituents, and that he was not part of any campaign organisation to depose the Prime Minister.
He went on to say that what had happened had “eroded trust” in the administration, and that Mr Johnson’s statement that he was uninformed of the nature of parties in No 10 was untrustworthy.
He continued that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t aware of at least some of what was going on.
Mr Holmes, an Eastleigh MP, said his work on behalf of residents had been tainted by the toxic culture that seemed to pervade No 10.
Mr Holmes said his resignation was “not about the leadership, this is not about letters or the 1922 committee” in an interview with BBC South Today.
Ms Gray’s report comes after a four-month Metropolitan Police investigation into events that resulted in 126 fines being handed to 83 people, including Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak- for those events that happened in the years 2020 and 2021.
Mr Johnson told reporters before Mr Holmes announced his resignation that he believed he had had enough support within his party to stay in office, but he dodged questions about whether he condoned the culture of frequent drinking and rule-breaking outlined in Ms Gray’s report.
“If you look at the answers in the House of Commons over more than two hours, I think you’ll be able to see I answered that very, very extensively,” the PM stated.
Mr Holmes has been a parliamentary private secretary to Ms Patel since September 2021, after being elected as an MP in the 2019 general election.
The unpaid position is the lowest step on the government ladder, and it is frequently viewed as a method for newer MPs to obtain experience working with ministers.
He became the second Tory to resign from a government role as a result of the Partygate scandal, as disclosed in a statement.
Lord David Wolfson resigned as a justice minister in April, citing the “scale, context, and nature” of Covid’s government breaches as incompatible with his duty to uphold the rule of law.
