A Tory MP has broken ranks to become the first Conservative backbencher to call for Boris Johnson to quit after the Prime Minister was fined over the "partygate" scandal.

       Nigel Mills, the Tory MP for Amber Valley, said he no longer believes Mr Johnson's position as Prime Minister is "tenable".

       Speaking to BBC Radio Derby this morning, Mr Mills said: "In all conscience I don’t think a prime minister can survive or should survive breaking the rules he put in place and he was on the TV every few nights, reminding us all that we should observe.

       “We have to have higher standards than that of people at the top. He has been fined, I don’t think his position is tenable, in my view.”

       His comments came after Sir Roger Gale, the Tory MP for North Thanet, warned against ousting Mr Johnson now because of the Ukraine crisis but said the PM should volunteer for a leadership contest in the future.

       Meanwhile, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said Mr Johnson is "completely mortified" at being fined but he added: “He [Mr Johnson] is human and humans err and sometimes they make mistakes and that is what happened here.”

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       While Nigel Mills, the Tory MP for Amber Valley, has said he believes Boris Johnson's position is no longer tenable (see the post below at 08.46), he also believes his colleagues may not have the appetite to get rid of the PM.

       Asked if he thinks Mr Johnson will go, Mr Mills told BBC Radio Derby: "It is pretty clear he is not going to resign and I would be very surprised if there were 180 of my colleagues that wanted to change prime minister at this stage.

       “So I think the answer is no, he won’t.”

       Nigel Mills, the Tory MP for Amber Valley, has become the first Conservative MP to break ranks and publicly say he does not believe Boris Johnson can survive being fined over the "partygate" scandal.

       Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Mr Mills said: “In all conscience I don’t think a prime minister can survive or should survive breaking the rules he put in place and he was on the TV every few nights reminding us all that we should observe.

       “We have to have higher standards than that of people at the top. He has been fined, I don’t think his position is tenable, in my view.”

       Sir Roger Gale, the Tory MP for North Thanet, has suggested the UK cannot afford to have a "lame duck" prime minister while the Ukraine crisis is ongoing as he cautioned against ousting Boris Johnson now.

       He told Times Radio: "We have a coalition that is being glued together, an international coalition, that is being glued together by the United States and particularly buy the United Kingdom.

       “A leadership election will take three months. During that time we would have a lame duck prime minister were we to go down that road now.

       "The coming weeks in the Donbas, in Eastern Ukraine, are going to be absolutely crucial and it is vital in my view that we show completely united support for the coalition against Putin's war crimes. It really is for me as simple as that."

       Sir Roger Gale, the Tory MP for North Thanet, has been one of Boris Johnson's most fiercest critics.

       Earlier this year he called for the Prime Minister to quit but subsequently backtracked because of the Ukraine crisis.

       Sir Roger said this morning that "history would not forgive us" for ousting the PM now but he said he believes Mr Johnson should put himself forward for a leadership contest in the future once events in Ukraine have stabilised.

       He told Times Radio: “We don’t live in normal circumstances at the moment. I appreciate that this is wildly unpopular and I know that I have said things that people feel that I reneged on an undertaking that I gave.

       “But we are in the middle of an international crisis and I believe very strongly indeed that to do anything that would destabilise the Government of the United Kingdom at the moment, bearing in mind that the United Kingdom in company with the United States is leading the coalition in support of Ukraine and against Putin, if we were to do that I think history would not forgive us.

       “It is a luxury that we simply cannot afford at the moment. I think that time will come and I hope very much actually that Mr Johnson, when the time comes, will put himself forward for a leadership challenge so that he instigates it himself rather than having it called for by people like me.”

       Grant Shapps has defended the Prime Minister and said the premier had simply made a mistake.

       Asked again how the PM can stay in Number 10, the Transport Secretary told Sky News: “Everyone is human. People sometimes make mistakes. He wasn't there for the 50 events you are referring to of course and many times he wasn’t even in the building.

       “He is human and humans err and sometimes they make mistakes and that is what happened here.”

       He added: “The question I suppose… did he set out to do this? Was this something that was done with malice, with intent? And the answer of course is no. It is something that happened in error.”

       Grant Shapps has been given the job of defending the Government over "partygate" this morning.

       He started his interview on Sky News by saying Boris Johnson is "completely mortified" by yesterday's developments.

       Asked how the PM can stay in office now that he is being fined, Mr Shapps said: “First of all, I know that the Prime Minister has apologised for this. You just heard him say he accepts responsibility and he has re-organised Number 10.

       “I for one, as somebody who couldn’t see my own dad for four months during this period during lockdowns whilst he was in hospital and we didn’t know that we would see him again completely understand the upset and anger that this causes because I feel it myself.

       “And the one thing I know, and I spoke to the Prime Minister, is he is completely mortified by this happening and we know now a lot more about the day itself as well because we understand about the meetings that were going on, eight separate meetings that day before the Prime Minister went out and visited a school and came back and by surprise some of his team had arranged to wish him a happy birthday.”

       Boris Johnson is waking up to a fairly nightmarish set of newspaper frontpages this morning after the revelation yesterday that he will be fined over the "partygate" scandal.

       The Daily Telegraph quotes the PM, with the headline: "People have the right to expect better"

       The Mirror goes with: "Led by liars and lawbreakers"

       The Times offers: "Johnson refuses to quit over lockdown party fine"

       The Sun goes with: "I'm sorry... but I have work to do"

       And The Guardian has a headline of: "PM: I broke my own rules but I refuse to go"

       Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog.

       The fallout from the latest "partygate" revelations continues, with Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, sent out to face the morning media round as Boris Johnson tries to stabilise his premiership.

       I will guide you through the key developments on what promises to be another busy day in Westminster.

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