A cabinet minister has insisted it is “unlikely” the Prime Minister will face a leadership challenge as he dismissed the concerns of Tory MPs calling for his resignation.
Suggestions that a growing number of Conservative MPs were attempting to oust Boris Johnson have been "whipped up", deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday.
Former Tory leader Lord William Hague has said the Prime Minister is in “real trouble” and could face a confidence vote as early as next week.
But Mr Raab said: “I just don’t see that.”
He told Sky News: "I think the Westminster bubble whips this stuff up.”
"I'm not saying its not serious and significant, but we have dealt with all of those issues
" I feel like a lot of commentary [is] building up on this issue, when actually when I talk to MPs and when I talk across the House of Commons about the issues that I'm taking forward, they want to see us driving forward that agenda.
"Votes of no confidence, leadership contests, all of that is yet more of Westminster talking to itself.”
Eighteen MPs have now confirmed that they have written to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, demanding that the PM face a confidence vote.
A further 20 have publicly questioned Mr Johnson’s leadership following the publication of a damning report into lockdown parties in Downing Street.
Among them is former cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom, who criticised Mr Johnson for a “failure” of leadership.
If Sir Graham receives 54 letters, Conservative MPs will vote on whether the Prime Minister should face a leadership challenge.
It comes as Mr Johnson faced criticism from his ethics advisor.
He said a “legitimate question” had arisen as to whether the fixed penalty notice might have constituted a breach of the “overarching duty within the Ministerial Code of complying with the law”.
Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on the Ministerial Code, also questioned the Prime Minister’s willingness to “take responsibility for his own conduct” in relation to the ministerial rules and delivered a withering assessment of exchanges with Downing Street officials.
Mr Johnson, in a letter released on Tuesday evening, responded by claiming the fine “did not breach” the Ministerial Code as there was “no intent to break the law”.
He also insisted he had taken “full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch” in light of lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and pointed to his House of Commons apology.
Mr Raab said questions around whether the Prime Minister had broken the ministerial code "have been answered".
Outlining why he believes Boris Johnson has not broken the ministerial code, he added: "Lord Geidt raised that issue and the PM has responded to the letter and he's been clear that in relation to the single fixed penalty notice he hadn't intentionally broken the law and his attendance at that gathering, as has been well rehearsed, was inadvertent.
"So Lord Geidt is really important, he is a senior figure. We've actually been working for months to reinforce his role, that's been done by agreement between No 10 and Lord Geidt, but actually I think those questions have been answered, both in general but also now specifically in the letter the PM has sent and, as I said, we're getting on with the job."
