Boris Johnson has defied calls for him to resign and indicated he wants to lead the Conservative Party into the next election.
Three more Tory MPs announced on Wednesday they wanted the prime minister to quit in the wake of the partygate revelations.
But in an interview with The Sun, Johnson said he had “a lot more to do” and was “focussed on the next election”.
The prime minister said he was “certainly not” done, despite the political storm that engulfed his leadership in recent weeks.
“My job is to get on with what the public elected me to do, the best answer to any criticism is to deliver,” he said.
The next election is due to take place in 2024.
It came as Gary Streeter, the veteran Tory MP for South West Devon, said he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson’s leadership.
The Tory grandee said he could not reconcile the “pain and sacrifice” his constituents went through during lockdown with the apparent rule breaking parties held in Downing Street.
Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Commons defence committee, and Anthony Mangnall, the MP for Totnes and South Devon, both also yesterday called on Johnson to quit.
But culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who is fiercely loyal to the PM, described the rebel Tories as “selfish”, attempting to dismiss them as “a handful of egos” who “want to make it all about them”.
And James Cleverly, a Foreign Office minister, told Times Radio it would be “not smart” to have a Conservative leadership battle at a time of international tension in Ukraine.
So far 13 Conservatives have publicly called for the PM’s resignation, although more may have submitted letters in secret.
If 54 Tory MPs submit a letter to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench Tory 1922 committee, then a no confidence vote in Johnson’s leadership will be held.