The Conservative party chair has admitted that Boris Johnson’s fine for attending an illegal party is more serious than a speeding ticket – after a cabinet minister suggested the offences were similar.

       Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, was ridiculed by making the comparison, also wrongly claiming that Tony Blair was handed a parking ticket while in No 10.

       Asked if it was right to compare breaching Covid rules to a speeding offence, Mr Dowden replied: “It is not a comparison I would make.”

       “I take these allegations very seriously – and I don’t underestimate for a moment how angry and hurt people feel about it.”

       The crisis engulfing Mr Johnson has deepened after he failed to block a Commons inquiry into whether he lied to MPs, when he wrongly told them no Covid rules were broken.

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       Top Conservatives are predicting that a post-local elections challenge to his leadership is now inevitable, as MPs contemplate no end to the controversy.

       And one senior Tory, Steve Baker, has warned the Conservatives will “reap the whirlwind” of public anger over the parties at the ballot box on 5 May.