A CONSERVATIVE MP has called for Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister, stating that his position is “untenable” following the most recent Downing Street party revelation.
Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said that Boris Johnson’s “resignation is the only way to bring this whole unfortunate spectacle to an end”.
Mr Loughton, from Eastbourne, apologised for the “great hurt” that has been caused to people who have made “substantial sacrifices” during lockdown.
He said that we should “expect everyone to follow the rules equally, not least those responsible for implementing them.”
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His statement comes after the latest Number 10 party revelation, which revealed that Boris Johnson attended a drinks party in his own back garden on May 20, 2020 during lockdown.
On Wednesday night, the Prime Minister told MPs that he “believed implicitly” that it was a work event.
ITV News revealed the news last week with a leaked email from Martin Reynolds, Boris Johnson’s private secretary, which invited people for “socially distanced drinks” in the Number 10 garden.
The email also stated to “bring your own booze”.
Mr Loughton said yesterday: “It has strained belief that when most people were avoiding social events during the height of lockdown, that ill-advised events that we now know took place in or around Downing Street could in any way be construed as falling within the rules.
“As a result, that has given rise to a very understandable perception that there is one rule for some and another for the rest of us, and at a time when we need and expect the whole country to pull together to see us through the pandemic that threatens to undermine the authority of those making the rules and the rules themselves.
“That is not acceptable, and I have made it clear all along that if people have broken the law then they need to be held accountable to the law and punished appropriately, wherever it happened and whatever their status.”
Mr Loughton clarified he was not at any Downing Street parties and added that Boris Johnson has handled the revelations poorly.
He said the public deserved “clarity, honesty and contrition” rather than “obfuscation, prevarication and evasion” from the PM.
Mr Loughton praised Boris Johnson’s leadership in certain areas such as Brexit and said he has made more correct decisions than wrong ones in regards to Covid.
But the 59-year-old concluded that “the longer that he resists the inevitable, the more damage that will be done to his reputation and his legacy and that is why I hope this can be resolved satisfactorily by him in the next few days.”
The full statement can be read below:
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