A former cabinet minister has become the latest Conservative MP to publicly call for Boris Johnson to resign in the wake of the partygate scandal.
Jeremy Wright, who was culture secretary and attorney general under Theresa May, posted a statement on his website saying “accountability and restoring faith in good government” required more than apologies and the moving on of civil servants if the government is to deliver on its election promises.
“It now seems to me that the prime minister remaining in office will hinder those crucial objectives,” he wrote.
“I have therefore, with regret, concluded that, for the good of this and future governments, the prime minister should resign.”
He becomes the 25th Tory MP to call for Mr Johnson to resign after the PM was fined by the Met Police in April over a lockdown breaking party, according to a Sky News tally of MPs.
Mr Wright did not reveal if he has sent a letter of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, who must receive 54 letters before a confidence vote can be called.
However, it is likely he has after publicly calling for the PM to go.
A former lawyer and the MP for Kenilworth and Southam since 2005, Mr Wright had previously said Mr Johnson should go if he was found to have knowingly attended rule-breaking parties.
Like many Conservatives, he said he would make a judgment after the Met Police and Sue Gray had published their inquiries into the events, with the former concluding two weeks ago and the latter last Wednesday.