Pressure grows on Boris Johnson after Partygate report

Boris Johnson's premiership is coming under pressure, as more Tory MPs break cover to criticise his fitness for office in the wake of Partygate.

John Stevenson is the latest Tory MP to reveal that he has written a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.

It means 12 Tory MPs have called on him to resign since Sue Gray published her report into lockdown parties last week.

Former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has also hit out at the PM's "unacceptable failures of leadership".

But Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries defended her boss, saying a vote of no confidence was "never going to happen".

She told reporters the criticism of the PM was "disappointing", but added: "The country elected Boris Johnson, he has the confidence of the country."

Dame Andrea did not join the ranks of Tory MPs to publicly call on Mr Johnson to resign, which now stands at a total of 28.

In a letter to her South Northamptonshire constituents, she said individual MPs would have to decide for themselves how to respond to the Gray report, which laid bare a culture of Covid rule-breaking at No 10.

But the normally-loyal MP said the report revealed "unacceptable failures of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the prime minister".

Most of the 28 MPs who have called on the PM to quit have submitted letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership. A threshold of 54 has to be hit for a confidence vote to take place.

Others may have submitted letters without making it known publicly.

Only Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, knows the exact number that have been submitted.

Mr Stevenson, the latest to confirm he has taken this step, said he had also urged Mr Johnson to call a vote of confidence in his own leadership.

In a statement, the Carlisle MP said: "This I believe is the only way we are to draw a line under all the recent issues surrounding the activities in No 10.

"Sadly, the prime minister appears unwilling to bring matters to a head and submit himself to such a vote.

Therefore, the only option is for the Conservative MPs to facilitate a vote of confidence. I have already taken the appropriate action."

Sir Graham who is not currently in Westminster, and was spotted at the formal unveiling of a statue of former PM Margaret Thatcher in Lincolnshire on Tuesday, is not responding to questions about the no confidence letters.

Cabinet ministers have rallied to Mr Johnson's defence since the publication of Ms Gray's report, while other Tory MPs have not backed calls for his resignation.

Former Tory leader Lord Hague, however, has said the range of MPs coming out against Mr Johnson shows he is in "real trouble".

Adding that the party's MPs were "very troubled" about the contents of the Gray report, he predicted the PM could face a no-confidence vote as early as next week.

He told Times Radio: "I think the Sue Gray report has been one of those slow fuse explosions in politics.

"The fuse is getting closer to the dynamite here, and it's speeding up."

Asked about the prospect of a leadership challenge, Science Minister George Freeman told BBC Radio 4: "Prime ministers always have to work to maintain their confidence. Tony Blair did, Gordon Brown did, Margaret Thatcher did".

"[Boris Johnson] didn't stand as the patron saint of virtue. People knew who they were electing," he added.

"He got a massive majority, got us out of the Brexit deadlock, delivered the pandemic vaccine programme success, Ukraine, cost of living - £37bn this week.

"I just think, before we change prime ministers, we need to make sure we're doing the day job first. We mustn't be driven by short term speculation."