LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) – Three British Conservative MPs withdrew their support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday over a horrific report describing a series of 10 Downing Street alcohol parties that violated COVID-19 blocking rules.
A day after a report describing drinking culture at his Downing Street office during the blockade was published, Conservative MPs John Barron, David Simmonds and Stephen Hammond said they could no longer support the prime minister.
Their votes complement the growing list of Conservative lawmakers who have called for Johnson to resign over what has been called a “party door”, despite repeated apologies from the prime minister, although not enough to provoke a vote of confidence. Read more
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The baron, first elected in 2001, said he was withdrawing his support because he believed Johnson had “knowingly” misled parliament – an accusation the prime minister denies but is being investigated by a parliamentary committee.
“Given the scale of the rule violation in №10, I cannot accept that the prime minister did not know. Therefore, his repeated assurances in parliament that there were no violations of the rules are simply unreliable, “he said in a statement.
“Since I have always said that I will look at all the available evidence before making a decision, I am afraid that the prime minister is no longer happy with my support – I can no longer use his doubts.”
Simmonds, who was elected in 2019, said Johnson has lost public trust. “Accordingly, it is time for him to step down so that the new leadership can continue the important work of the government,” he said in a statement.
More than 15 conservative lawmakers have publicly called for Johnson to step down after reports of parties violating the blockade began to make headlines. But Johnson declined, saying he still has a job in government.
To provoke a vote of confidence in Johnson’s leadership, 54 Conservative MPs must write letters calling for a vote to the chairman of the party’s 1922 party committee. Former Minister Hammond said he had sent a letter.
The letters are confidential, so the president is the only one who knows how many have actually been sent.
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Report by Elizabeth Piper: Edited by Kylie McClellan and Edmund Blair
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