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       Jacob Rees-Mogg defends Boris Johnson over party scandal.mp4

       Boris Johnson defied calls to resign last night following a bruising PMQs performance where he apologised for attending drinks in the gardens of Downing Street during lockdown.

       The defiant prime minister decided to fight for his position yesterday afternoon and mobilised his cabinet to his defence, with ministers posting messages of support on social media.

       The attempted fight-back comes as Labour leads in the polls by a yawning ten-point gap - the biggest Labour lead over the Tory party in almost a decade.

       The prime minister tried to justify his attendance to a “bring your own booze” gathering on 20 May 2020 by saying that he “believed implicitly that this was a work event”.

       Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson said the event “could be said technically to fall within the guidance” but apologised to the “millions and millions of people who simply did not see it that way”.

       Despite the public apology, Mr Johnson later told Tory MPs in the Commons tea room that he did not believe he had personally done anything wrong, according to The Times.

       Recommended Boris Johnson should quit over Downing Street garden party, says Douglas Ross Jacob Rees-Mogg brands Scottish Tory leader ‘lightweight’ after he calls for PM’s resignation Next Tory leader odds: The favourites to replace Boris Johnson

       Key Points Lukewarm support of Johnson from chancellor Rishi Sunak Which Tory MPs have called on Boris Johnson to resign? Johnson can still win next election, cabinet minister says

       Show latest update 1642065023 Cabinet minister refuses to say if Johnson will quit in the event of damning Gray report

       Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis has refused to say whether Boris Johnson will resign if the inquiry into Downing Street’s lockdown-busting parties finds he broke the rules.

       Read the full details in this report by my colleague deputy political editor Rob Merrick:

       Cabinet minister refuses to say PM will quit if he broke rules over No 10 party A Cabinet minister has refused to say that Boris Johnson will quit even if the inquiry into the lockdown-busting No 10 party he attended finds he broke the rules.

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 09:10

       1642063969 Johnson ‘refused to guarantee no more party revelations would emerge in call with Douglas Ross’, reports say

       Sources have told the Scottish Times that Boris Johnson refused to rule out further party revelations emerging in a 15-minute phone call with leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross yesterday.

       Douglas Ross called for Mr Johnson to resign on Wednesday and told STV that during the call, Mr Johnson made it plain that he “believes that he didn’t do anything wrong”.

       At a meeting of Conservative MSPs yesterday, there was unanimous support for Douglas Ross’s position that Mr Johnson should step down.

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 08:52

       1642063446 Labour leads Conservatives by 10 points in new poll

       Labour have opened up a strong 10-point lead against the Conservatives, a new poll for The Times has revealed.

       The YouGov poll, conducted before Mr Johnson’s apology, found that six in ten voters believed that the prime minister should resign. This included 38 percent of those who voted Tory in the last election.

       78 percent of the public did not believe that the prime minister had been honest in his answers to questions about the alleged parties - including 63 percent of Conservative voters.

       Read the results of the poll in full here:

       Labour opens up 10-point lead over Tories as pressure mounts over lockdown party PM falls further out of favour after party apology

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 08:44

       1642062852 Lukewarm support of Johnson from chancellor Rishi Sunak

       Chancellor Rishi Sunak was conspicuous in his absence on the Tory front benches yesterday as he spent the day in Devon visiting a pharmaceutical company.

       Mr Sunak re-emerged on social media at 8:20pm, writing: “I’ve been on a visit all day today continuing work on our Plan For Jobs as well as meeting MPs to discuss the energy situation.

       “The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry.”

       Politico’s London Playbook offered analysis on the Chancellor’s movements this morning, with Alex Wickham reporting that one Tory MP had called Mr Sunak’s absence from PMQs “the most significant event of the day”.

       Politico reported that Mr Sunak’s decision to wait on the results of the Gray report was the chancellor declining “to outright endorse Johnson’s leadership and instead time-limited his support until the end of the Gray probe”, adding: “his resignation would trigger a flood of no-confidence letters to 1922 committee Chairman Graham Brady”.

       Read more about Rishi Sunak’s reaction to yesterday’s events here:

       Rishi Sunak says Boris Johnson ‘right to apologise’ over No 10 party Chancellor waits several hours before commenting on prime minister’s admission about partygate scandal

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 08:34

       1642061605 Which Tory MPs have called on Boris Johnson to resign?

       Four Conservative backbench MPs have publicly called on Boris Johnson to resign, saying his position is now “untenable”.

       Sir Roger Gale MP said that “a red line has been crossed” by Mr Johnson. He told the PA news agency that “you don’t have bring-a-bottle work events in Downing Street, so far as I’m aware” and “I think the time has come for either the prime minister to go with dignity as his choice, or for the 1922 committee to intervene.”

       Will Wragg MP for Hazel Grove in Manchester said that “the prime minister’s position is untenable”, adding: “A series of unforced errors are deeply damaging to the perception of the party”.

       Caroline Nokes MP also called on Mr Johnson to step down, saying: “He’s damaging us now, he’s damaging the entire Conservative brand”. She added: “Now regretfully, he looks like a liability, and I think he either goes now, or he goes in three years’ time at a general election, and it’s up to the party to decide which was around that’s going to be.”

       The most high-profile of the four openly calling for Boris Johnson’s resignation was leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross MP. He said: “I don’t want to be in this position, but I am in this position now, where I don’t think he can continue as leader of the Conservatives.”

       He has been joined by all 31 Tory MSPs in his feeling that Boris Johnson should step down, according to reports.

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 08:13

       1642060780 Johnson can still win next election, cabinet minister says

       Boris Johnson can still win the next general election for the Conservatives, a cabinet minister has said amid ongoing speculation about whether the prime minister will be pushed out of office.

       Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis backed the prime minister to lead the party and said he had “rightly” apologised for the behaviour of Downing Street during 2020’s May lockdown.

       When asked by Kay Burley on Sky News if Mr Johnson had misled parliament, Mr Lewis said: “That is making a pre-judgement on what the report will find.”

       (PA)

       Holly Bancroft 13 January 2022 07:59