Boris Johnson has lost the support of another of his own MPs, with Anthony Mangnall announcing he has submitted a letter calling for a no confidence vote in the prime minister.
Mangnall, the MP for Totnes and South Devon, tweeted on Wednesday afternoon: “Standards in public life matter.
“At this time I can no longer support the PM. His actions and mistruths are overshadowing the extraordinary work of so many excellent ministers and colleagues.I have submitted a letter of no confidence.”
Earlier today, Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the Commons defence committee, also said he would be submitting a letter.
“I don’t think the prime minister realises how worried colleagues are in every corner of the party, backbenchers and ministers alike, that this is all only going one way and will invariably slide towards a very ugly place,” Ellwood told Sky News.
In the wake of the revelations that parties were held in Downing Street during lockdown, 12 Conservative MPs have now called for Johnson to resign - although not all have said they have formally submitted a letter.
To mount a leadership challenge, 15% of Conservative MPs have to submit a letter to the 1922 committee. Based on the current size of the party in the Commons, this means 54 Tory MPs have to get out their pens.
The letters are secretly sent to Sir Graham Brady, the veteran Tory MP leads 1922. Only Brady knows how many letters he has received. And an unknown number could have put a letter in without announcing it in public.