A FURTHER Tory MP and select committee chair said he called for Boris Johnson to resign after the publication of the Sue Gray report.
Sir Bob Neill, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson’s leadership on Friday.
Neill said he had waited to read the senior civil servant’s full report into No 10 lockdown parties before making up his mind - but said he found the Prime Minister’s explanations for his behaviour lacked credibility.
Posting a statement on his website, the MP for Bromley and Chislehurst said: “I have listened carefully to the explanations the Prime Minister has given, in Parliament and elsewhere, and, regrettably, do not find his assertions to be credible.
“That is why, with a heavy heart, I submitted a letter of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady on Wednesday afternoon.
“Trust is the most important commodity in politics, but these events have undermined trust in not just the office of the Prime Minister, but in the political process itself.
“To rebuild that trust and move on, a change in leadership is required.”
The intervention came after a ministerial aide quit over the “toxic culture” in No 10.
Tory MP Paul Holmes resigned as an assistant to Home Secretary Priti Patel, saying he was “shocked and angered” by the revelations in the Sue Gray report.
He blasted the “deep mistrust” created by the breaking of Covid rules, after four Conservative MPs added their voices to demands for Johnson’s resignation.
But Johnson told reporters during a visit to Stockton-on-Tees, where he met fibre-cable-laying trainees, that he is confident he has enough support within his party.
“Yes, but I think I gave some pretty vintage and exhaustive answers on all that subject the other day in the House of Commons and then in a subsequent press conference,” he said when asked by broadcasters.
Neill was the fifth Tory to go public with resignation demands since the damning report laid bare the parties in No 10 at a time when millions were forced to cut off contact with loved ones.
Former minister Stephen Hammond said he “cannot and will not defend the indefensible” and indicated he had sent a letter of no confidence to the Tory backbench 1922 Committee.
David Simmonds and John Baron spoke out on Thursday, following Julian Sturdy, who demanded Johnson’s exit in the hours after Gray’s report was published on Wednesday.
Later on Friday, an MP who previously called for Johnson to go - Alicia Kearns - said: "My position remains unchanged since January, and the Prime Minister continues not to hold my confidence."
