Boris Johnson will have to resign if he is found to have attended a lockdown breaking party, a former Conservative attorney general has said.
In a letter to constituents seen by The Times, Jeremy Wright said the prime minister would also have to quit if he was aware of gatherings in Downing Street that broke the rules.
On Friday Johnson was handed a questionnaire by police investigating potential illegal events, he was given seven days to fill it in.
The prime minister has refused to say whether he will resign should he be issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN).
Wright, the MP for Kenilworth and Southam who was attorney general between 2014 and 2018, said: “There is little in this episode or the handling of it of which the prime minister can be proud, and he may yet need to leave office because of it.”
He added: “If the prime minister has attended events he knew broke the rules, or was aware of events he knew broke the rules, he should not have advised the House of Commons, on several occasions, that as far as he was aware, no rules were broken there.
“Doing so in those circumstances would be misleading the House and must in my view lead to his resignation or removal from office.”
The Met have sent the questionnaire to approximately 50 people as they investigate 12 gatherings in Downing Street. The prime minister is alleged to have been at up to six of the events.
Johnson on Monday insisted“of course” he can lead the Tories in the next general election, despite calls from a number of Conservative MPs that he resign.