Four more Tory MPs withdraw support for UK PM Johnson over ‘partygate’
UK PM Boris Johnson
Another Conservative MP, John Baron, withdrew support for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, making him the fourth Tory parliamentarian to do so in the past one week following the publication of Sue Gray report which blamed the PM for allowing parties in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid lockdown.
Baron, David Simmonds, Angela Richardson and Julian Sturdy joined the other 22 Tory MPs demanding Johnson’s resignation over the “shameful” parties.
Baron, first elected in 2001, said he was withdrawing his support because he believed Johnson had "knowingly" misled parliament —a charge the PM denies.
"Given the scale of rule-breaking in No. 10, I cannot accept that the prime minister was unaware. Therefore his repeated assurances in parliament that there was no rule-breaking is simply not credible," he said in a statement.
"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."
Simmonds, who was elected in 2019, said Johnson had lost the confidence of the public.
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Watch |'Partygate' Report: PM Johnson's staff got drunk, brawled & abused cleaning workers
"Accordingly, it is time for him to step down so that new leadership can take forward the important work of the government," he said in a statement.
Johnson can be thrown out of power if 54 lawmakers write a letter of no-confidence motion against him. According to BBC, only 18 MPs have written the letter, well short of the required number.
Gray's report followed the conclusion of a separate Metropolitan Police investigation into lockdown parties in Downing Street and other government offices.
As many as 126 fixed penalty notices were handed out for rule breaches, with the prime minister receiving a single fine for attending a birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020.
Also see |Johnson's partygate pictures revealed: Alcohol, food and music during lockdown at 10 Downing Street
But Johnson is defiant insisting that he will remain as prime minister despite the "bitter and painful" judgement of Gray’s report.
(With inputs from agencies)
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