Johnson faces mutiny as two more MPS call for him to go

‘I do not find his assertions, that no rules were broken or that he was unaware of the breaches, to be credible’

BORIS JOHNSON was facing a growing mutiny last night as two more Conservative MPS called for him to quit as Prime Minister and a third resigned as a ministerial aide.

Sir Bob Neill, a former minister, and Alicia Kearns said they had submitted letters of no confidence in the Conservative leader, with Sir Bob suggesting that Mr Johnson would cost the party the next election by staying on. Meanwhile, Paul Holmes quit as a ministerial aide in the Home Office because of the “toxic culture” at No 10 that was revealed in the partygate scandal. However, he is understood not to have put in a letter to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee.

Seven Conservative MPS have called for the Prime Minister to quit since the publication on Wednesday of Sue Gray’s report into illegal lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Polling has forecast that Mr Johnson would lose almost every battleground seat, including his own, if a general election were held tomorrow.

Separately, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is said to be drawing up plans for a second windfall tax on energy companies to ease the cost of living crisis.

At least 22 Conservative MPS have now publicly submitted letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson.

Senior ministers privately believe the figure is as high as 34. For a confidence vote to take place, 54 letters need to be submitted.

One Tory MP who has submitted a letter said: “This is 100 per cent not organised. It’s a sign of the point we have got to.”

Sir Bob – a senior barrister and chairman of the justice select committee – said that “as a lawyer” he had “listened carefully to the explanations the Prime Minister has given” over the parties in Downing Street during lockdown.

He said: “I am sorry, but I do not find his assertions, either that no rules were broken or that he was unaware of the breaches, to be credible. I cannot accept that he was not aware of much of what was going on. It is in the national

interest that the Conservatives win the next election, but it requires a change of leader for us to do so.”

The Yougov survey predicts the Tories will shed all but three of the 54 seats they seized from Labour three years ago in a reversal of the red wall rout in 2019. Every constituency they won in the North of England would return to Sir Keir Starmer’s party, with only a trio in the Midlands staying blue.

On top of that, the Conservatives would cede a further 34 “battleground” seats that they won by a margin of 15 points or fewer at the last election.

The survey came as it emerged that Tory MPS in the party’s red wall had been put on alert for an early general election in autumn next year.

David Canzini, Mr Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, told 60 Tory MPS at an away day in Leicestershire “to be general

‘Putin would be laughing from the rooftops if we were to defenestrate the Prime Minister now’

election-ready by autumn 2023”, sources told The Daily Telegraph.

Oliver Dowden, the party chairman, also told the MPS about a new attack unit set up to take on the threat from the Liberal Democrats in the South West.

The Chancellor’s second “windfall tax” would be a levy on the electricity generation sector, including nuclear power stations and wind farms, and would allow Mr Sunak to cover the costs of the £15billion cost of living giveaway announced on Thursday.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, and Jacob Rees-mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, are understood to oppose the new tax, which would supplement the £5 billion raid on oil and gas companies that has already been planned.

The three Tory MPS called for Mr Johnson to quit in a frenetic six-hour period that started at lunchtime, with Mr Holmes, MP for Eastleigh, criticising the “toxic culture that seemed to have permeated No 10”.

Shortly after Sir Bob made his intentions known, Ms Kearns, Tory MP for Rutland and Melton confirmed that she had submitted a letter of no confidence in January.

She said: “Government serves only with the trust of its people. This protracted affair has brought our Government and my party into disrepute.” Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, has said “this is not the moment” to launch a leadership contest, but he did not rule out a future attempt.

Mr Hunt was asked at the Hay Festival about challenging Mr Johnson.

He said he was “utterly appalled” by the findings of Ms Gray’s report.

Mr Hunt added: “But when I look at the situation in Ukraine, this is not the moment for a leadership contest.

“Putin would be laughing from the rooftops if we were to defenestrate the Prime Minister now.”