The senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood has revealed he is to submit a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson, as more Tories broke cover to criticise the prime minister after the Sue Gray report into the Downing Street lockdown parties.
Ellwood, who is chair of the defence committee and a former Foreign Office minister, is the fifth MP to publicly declare intentions to submit a letter after the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, and the backbenchers Andrew Bridgen, Sir Roger Gale, and Peter Aldous. At least 54 letters would be required to trigger a vote among Tory MPs on Johnson’s future.
Others who have called on Johnson to resign include the former cabinet ministers Andrew Mitchell and David Davis, as well as committee chairs Caroline Nokes and William Wragg. A 2019 intake MP, Elliot Colburn, has also hinted he had submitted a letter by telling constituents that his “patience had snapped” and suggesting the prime minister should consider his position.
The former prime minister Theresa May, Aaron Bell from the 2019 intake and veteran backbencher Gary Streeter have also been publicly critical of Johnson, while the centrist Tory MP Tom Tugendhat has declared he would run to replace him in any leadership contest. » | Jamie Grierson and Rowena Mason | Wednesday, February 2, 2022
