UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to face an increasingly angry chorus of members of his own party amid reports the 54 letters which would launch a no-confidence vote could be received on Wednesday.
Reports on Tuesday night suggested MPs furious at the prime minister’s handling of the “partygate” scandal engulfing Westminster had been angered further by his insistence that nobody had told him a party at Downing Street would break rules he himself had set.
And that especially those in the 2019 intake, many of whom have slim majorities after votes were “lent” to them during the last election, were reportedly preparing to submit their letters to the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady.
Bury South MP Christian Wakeford — who has a majority of 402 — became the seventh Conservative MP to publicly call for Mr Johnson to go on Tuesday, reports say.
But a number of newspapers reported that the plot to oust Mr Johnson was far wider, as the prime minister will attempt to reassure his party when he appears in the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
An expected announcement that Plan B measures to stem the spread of coronavirus will be lifted next week is likely to please some backbenchers.
But MPs from the former so-called Red Wall were said to have met on Tuesday to discuss Mr Johnson’s future in a gathering nicknamed the “pork pie plot” or the “pork pie putsch”, and one told The Daily Telegraph the 15 per cent of letters needed to trigger a challenge could be reached on Wednesday.
Mr Johnson, who was reported to have spent Tuesday evening in his Commons office meeting with potential rebels, apologised multiple times in a major broadcast interview for “misjudgements that were made”.
But he stuck to his defence that he had thought a “bring your own booze” party held in the Number 10 garden on May 20, 2020, had been a work event and he had not been warned about it in advance.
Mr Johnson’s former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, threw that into doubt on Monday as he said he would “swear under oath” Mr Johnson was told about the bash.
But asked if he had lied to Parliament over the parties as he visited a north London hospital, the prime minister told broadcasters: “No. I want to begin by repeating my apologies to everybody for the misjudgements that I’ve made, that we may have made in Number 10 and beyond, whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic.
“Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules, that the event in question was something that … was not a work event, and as I said in the House of Commons, when I went out into that garden, I thought that I was attending a work event.”
Mr Johnson said he “can’t imagine why on Earth it would have gone ahead, or why it would’ve been allowed to go ahead” if he had been told it was anything but a “work event”.
“I do humbly apologise to people for misjudgements that were made but that is the very, very best of my recollection about this event,” he said.
Mr Johnson confirmed he had given evidence to an inquiry being carried out into Whitehall parties during lockdown restrictions by senior official Sue Gray.
And the PA news agency understands Mr Cummings has also agreed to speak to the civil servant who has been described as “formidable”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to give the prime minister his unequivocal backing on Tuesday, as Mr Johnson made his first public appearance after reducing his contacts last week, when Number 10 said a family member had tested positive for Covid-19.
But Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries came out to bat for Mr Johnson, telling The Times those manoeuvring against him were “being disloyal to the prime minister, the party, their constituents and the wider country”.
Mr Johnson insisted he only saw the “bring your own booze” invitation his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds sent to more than 100 staff “the other day … when it emerged”.
He declined to say whether he would resign if it was proved he did intentionally mislead Parliament, instead pleading for patience before Ms Gray delivers the verdict of her partygate inquiry, which is not expected until the end of this week at the earliest.
The prime minister appeared distressed as he faced questions about two events in Number 10 last April on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, during which Queen Elizabeth II sat alone as she mourned.
The prime minister audibly breathed heavily behind his mask as he said: “I deeply and bitterly regret that that happened.
“I can only renew my apologies both to Her Majesty and to the country for misjudgements that were made, and for which I take full responsibility.”
Of those Tory MPs withholding their judgment for now, many accepted that if Mr Johnson was found to have misled Parliament, he would have to resign.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the quality control laboratory where batches of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are tested at Oxford Biomedica, on January 18, in Oxford. All photos from Getty Images, unless otherwise stated. -
Mr Johnson carries doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for mobile distribution at Barnet Football Club's football ground, The Hive, in north London, on January 25. -
Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds take part in a doorstep clap in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore outside 10 Downing Street on February 3. -
The prime minister visits Sedgehill School in south-east London and takes part in an online class on February 23, ahead of students returning to classrooms after remote learning. -
Mr Johnson chairs a session of the UN Security Council on climate and security at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on February 23, in London. -
Mr Johnson gives a thumbs-up during a visit to the National Express depot in Coventry on March 15. The prime minister was unveiling a shake-up of the bus sector which aims to see lower, simpler flat fares in towns and cities. -
Mr Johnson gestures after receiving the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas's Hospital on March 19, in London. -
Mr Johnson gives an update on the pandemic during a virtual press conference in the new £2.6 million No9 briefing room on March 29, in London. -
Boris Johnson eats an ice cream during his visit at Haven Perran Sands Holiday Park on April 7, in Perranporth. The prime minister was visiting businesses to see how they were preparing to reopen after the Coronavirus lockdown. -
Boris Johnson practices his football skills as he visits Hartlepool United Football Club on April 23, ahead of the May 6 by-election. -
Mr Johnson, accompanied by Welsh Conservative candidate Barbara Hughes, visits Moreton farm near Wrexham as the prime minister campaigns in Wales ahead of elections, on April 26. -
Mr Johnson visits Hartlepool after the Conservative Party candidate Jill Mortimer won the Hartlepool Parliamentary By-election on May 7. -
Mr Johnson sits in the cockpit of an Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II during a visit to the 'HMS Queen Elizabeth' aircraft carrier on May 21. The ship was about to depart for Asia on its first operational deployment. -
Mr Johnson poses with his wife Carrie in the garden of 10 Downing Street following their wedding at Westminster Cathedral, on May 29. -
Mr Johnson hosts leaders during the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, on June 11. -
Queen Elizabeth II greets Mr Johnson during the first in-person weekly audience with the prime minister since the start of the coronavirus pandemic at Buckingham Palace on June 23. -
Mr and Mrs Johnson celebrate England's second goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship semi-final match between England and Denmark at Wembley Stadium on July 7. -
Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance attends a media briefing on coronavirus at Downing Street with Boris Johnson attending online via a screen from Chequers, the country house of the prime minister, where he was self-isolating on July 19. -
Prince Charles looks on as Mr Johnson opens his umbrella at The National Memorial Arboretum on July 28, in Stafford. -
A soldier wearing a protective face mask depicting the flag of Afghanistan looks on as Mr Johnson meets military personnel who worked on the Afghan evacuation during a visit to Merville Barracks on September 2. -
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, stands for a photograph with Mr Johnson at 10 Downing Street, on September 16. Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs -
Mr Johnson speaks during the first post-reshuffle cabinet meeting in Downing Street, on September 17. -
Mr Johnson delivers his leader's keynote speech during the Conservative Party conference at Manchester Central Convention Complex on October 6. -
Mr Johnson prepares to receive attendees during day two of the Cop26 Summit on November 1, in Glasgow. -
Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel attend Diwali celebrations during their visit to the Hindu temple, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Neasden, on November 7. -
Mr Johnson speaking at the CBI annual conference on November 22, where at one point he lost his place for almost 30 seconds and referenced theme park 'Peppa Pig World'. PA -
Mr Johnson observes an early morning Merseyside Police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings on December 6. -
Mr Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on December 8. Johnson apologised and announced an internal probe after a video emerged of senior aides joking about a Christmas party at Downing Street last year. AFP -
Mr Johnson speaks to update the nation from Downing Street on the Covid-19 booster vaccine programme on December 12. AFP
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab accepted Mr Johnson would “normally” be expected to resign if he intentionally misled Parliament, while Mid Derbyshire Conservative MP Pauline Latham told Times Radio: “If he has lied to Parliament, there will be no choice.
“At the end of the day, he made the rules, he was in that briefing room looking at the cameras saying this is what you have to do. So, you can’t say you didn’t know what the rules were. We all knew what the rules were.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson “needs to go”.
“I think he’s trying to take the British public for fools. He’s not sorry that he clearly attended a party, knows it’s against the rules; he’s sorry he got caught for it,” she told the PA news agency.
“I think people are incredibly frustrated.”
But she added: “He won’t, of course, and now it’s up to his MPs to do the right thing.”
