Former attorney general Jeremy Wright has become the latest Conservative MP to call on Boris Johnson to resign, saying that his continued presence in 10 Downing Street was hindering the process of “restoring faith” in the government.
The ex-cabinet minister’s call came as a backbench MP first elected in 2019 revealed that he has submitted a letter of no-confidence in the prime minister.
Carshalton and Wallington MP Elliot Colburn told a constituent that he had submitted a letter “some time ago” to 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady and had seen nothing in the Sue Gray report to persuade him to withdraw it. At least 20 MPs have so far handed in letters and Sir Graham must call a leadership contest if the figure reaches 54.
Mr Colburn’s suburban south London seat is a top “blue wall” target for Liberal Democrats, who held the constituency from 1997 until he snatched it by just 629 votes at the last election, making it one of the most marginal in the country.
Meanwhile, another Tory MP called on Mr Johnson to put himself forward for a vote of confidence in order to allow the party to move on from the Partygate scandal.
Nickie Aiken, the MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, said she was “incredulous and appalled” by the details of lockdown-breaching parties at 10 Downing Street uncovered in the Gray report.
“If I were in the same position, I would put myself forward to the Conservative parliamentary party for a vote of confidence,” she said in a letter to constituents. A former leader of Westminster City Council, Ms Aiken saw the authority fall to Labour earlier this month and has a majority of just 3,953 in her central London constituency.
In a statement on his website, Mr Wright said that if Mr Johnson remains in 10 Downing Street he would hinder the process of “restoring faith in good government”.
And he said: “I have with regret concluded that for the good of this and future governments, the prime minister should resign.”
Mr Wright is the latest of at least 25 Tory MPs to call on Mr Johnson to step down, with several coming forward in the wake of last week’s Sue Gray report into the Partygate scandal which found “failures of leadership” at No 10.
The Kenilworth & Southam MP said he did not regard the issuing of a £50 fixed penalty notice to the PM over a birthday party at No 10 as proof that he misled the House of Commons when he claimed Covid lockdown rules were followed in Downing Street.
But he added: “In my view there is clear evidence he has been negligent.
“I believe he could and should have done more to satisfy himself that assurance he had been given, and that he was in turn giving to parliament, were indeed correct.”
And he said that the “routine disregard” within 10 Downing Street for Covid rules “betrayed at best a casual and at worst a contemptuous attitude to the sacrifices made and distress felt for the many who observed rigorously both the spirit and letter of those rules”.
Damningly, he added: “I find it impossible to accept that the prime minister does not bear some personal responsibility for that tone.”
Mr Wright - who served as attorney general in David Cameron’s administration and culture secretary under Theresa May but was sacked by Mr Johnson when he took office in 2019 - said that the events uncovered by Ms Gray “have done real and lasting damage to the reputation not just of this government but to the institutions and authority of government more generally”.
Evidence that people in Downing Street failed to follow the rules they imposed on other Britons made it “less likely” that the public will again obey instructions issued by government in a future emergency, he warned.
“Many will say that if senior government officials don’t keep to the rules, why should I?” he said.
“Putting that right matters hugely to the essence of government authority and to the effectiveness of government policy, and I cannot see that the moving on of civil servants or apologies, however heartfelt, will succeed in doing so.
“Accountability and restoring faith in good government require something more, both to safeguard future public compliance with government instructions when it counts and to allow the present government to deliver the important legislation it has introduced, including vital changes to social care funding, energy security and online regulation.
“It now seems to me that the prime inister remaining in office will hinder those crucial objectives. I have therefore, with regret, concluded that, for the good of this and future governments, the prime minister should resign.”
