Another Tory MP has withdrawn their support from Boris Johnson and urged him to quit following the publication of the Sue Gray report into the partygate scandal.

       John Baron, the veteran Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, said the report and Metropolitan Police investigation had painted a "shameful pattern of misbehaviour" in No 10 but the “most serious charge against the Prime Minister is that of knowingly misleading Parliament”.

       He said: “Given the scale of rule-breaking in No 10, I cannot accept that the Prime Minister was unaware. Therefore, his repeated assurances in Parliament that there was no rule-breaking is simply not credible.”

       He added: “Having always said I would consider all the available evidence before deciding, I’m afraid the Prime Minister no longer enjoys my support – I can no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.”

       Mr Baron’s call for Mr Johnson to quit follows that of fellow Tory MP Julian Sturdy who last night said he was “now unable to give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt and feel it is in the public interest for him to resign”.

       ？？Follow the latest updates below.

       David Simmonds, the Tory MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said "it is time" for Boris Johnson "to step down".

       He said in a statement first issued to The Times: “I listened to what the Prime Minister had to say at Prime Minister’s Questions, his statement and the 1922 Committee yesterday following the publication of the Sue Gray report.

       “Having reflected on what he said, and the views of constituents and my Conservative Association, it is clear that while the government and our policies enjoy the confidence of the public the Prime Minister does not.

       “Accordingly, it is time for him to step down so that new leadership can take forward the important work of the government in ensuring that our people and country prosper.”

       John Baron, the Tory MP for Basildon and Billericay, has become the latest Conservative backbencher to withdraw his support from Boris Johnson and call on the PM to resign.

       In a statement on his website, Mr Baron said: “The Sue Gray report and the Metropolitan Police investigations paint a shameful pattern of misbehaviour during the pandemic as the rest of us kept to the covid regulations. Those responsible for setting the rules have a special duty to adhere to them.

       “However, for me the most serious charge against the Prime Minister is that of knowingly misleading Parliament. Given the scale of rule-breaking in No 10, I can not accept that the Prime Minister was unaware. Therefore, his repeated assurances in Parliament that there was no rule-breaking is simply not credible.

       “For some, this may appear a trivial point given world events. Yet a bedrock principle of our constitution is that we can trust the responses we receive in Parliament to be truthful and accurate. Parliament is the beating heart of our nation. To knowingly mislead it can not be tolerated, no matter the issue. Whether or not the Prime Minister is an asset to the party or the country is of less importance.

       “Having always said I would consider all the available evidence before deciding, I’m afraid the Prime Minister no longer enjoys my support – I can no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.”

       The House of Commons starts sitting from 9.30am today with an hour of digital, culture, media and sport questions and some questions to the Attorney General.

       The Commons has just confirmed there will then be an urgent question on the evacuation from Afghanistan. That is likely to last until 11.15am or 11.30am.

       Then we will have the business statement when the Commons Leader will answer any and all questions from MPs, usually for about 45 minutes, and then Rishi Sunak will deliver his statement on the cost of living crisis.

       It is hard to predict with certainty, but it looks like Mr Sunak will be on his feet just after noon.

       Lisa Nandy told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme that the Sue Gray report had revealed "a rot in government" and the "rot starts from the top".

       Labour's shadow levelling up secretary said: "I’d love to move on, I’d love to see the Government focusing on dealing with the cost-of-living crisis that has affected most families and businesses in this country at the moment, and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

       “But the trouble is, that as this report lays bare, there is a rot in government and the rot starts from the top."

       Boris Johnson said yesterday that he believed saying farewell to staff who were leaving their roles in No 10 during the pandemic was part of his job as leader.

       The PM has faced criticism because while he was able to say goodbye to his employees many people across the country could not say goodbye to loved ones at funerals.

       Asked why Mr Johnson was able to say goodbye to staff while other people could not even visit a grave, Steve Barclay said: “Because they were already in the building. They were already working in tight-knit groups. They were already there.”

       Lisa Nandy has warned the partygate scandal has undermined the public's trust in the UK's political system.

       She told BBC Breakfast: "Trust is the glue that holds up the political system together, and when that trust is gone the whole system collapses, and that is why what is happening at the moment with partygate is so devastating for most people in this country.”

       Lisa Nandy, Labour's shadow levelling up secretary, has accused Boris Johnson of failing to take full responsibility for the partygate scandal following the publication of the Sue Gray report.

       She told BBC Breakfast: “His full responsibility has resulted in him passing off responsibility to more junior staff members who’ve been fined and have taken the rap for what has been going on on his watch, under his Government, under his leadership.

       “He hasn’t resigned, he’s apologised belatedly when he was caught, he’s not sorry that he did it, he’s sorry that he was caught."

       Steve Barclay, the No 10 chief of staff, was asked during an interview on Sky News if he believes Boris Johnson has "honour".

       The Tory MP replied: “Yes, he does.”

       He was then asked if Mr Johnson "tells lies".

       Mr Barclay said: “No, he doesn’t.”

       Steve Barclay, the No 10 chief of staff, said Boris Johnson was "shocked" when he read the Sue Gray report yesterday morning.

       Asked for his reaction to the report, specifically the revelation that security and cleaning staff had been subjected to "unacceptable" treatment, Mr Barclay said: “Well, the Prime Minister was appalled to read that when he got that report that he himself commissioned yesterday morning.

       “That is why he has made such significant changes and those changes are recognised in the report and it is also why he went personally to apologise to staff yesterday because he was so shocked by what he read.”

       Ofgem estimated earlier this week that the energy price cap will increase to ￡2,800 in the autumn. It is currently at about ￡2,000 and was about ￡1,300 in October last year.

       Rishi Sunak had previously unveiled a ￡200 discount on energy bills, with the money to be paid back in ￡40 chunks over a five year period.

       The Treasury has now agreed to ditch the loan part of the deal and increase the discount amount. We do not know for certain how much of an increase there will be, but reports have suggested it could be upped to ￡400.

       Today's announcement will mean Mr Sunak can declare that around 28 million households are getting money off their energy bills, without a need to repay it, from October.

       However, even after the increase, the level of support will still be dwarfed by the expected jump in bills later this year.

       Labour has been calling for a windfall tax for months and the Government had said it was not attracted to the idea but it was not being ruled out in the future.

       Steve Barclay, the No 10 chief of staff, was asked why Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak had changed their minds on the tax and he said the Government's proposal is different to Labour's which would have "deterred investment" in new energy sources.

       He told Sky News: "What we have said throughout is we need to do two things. Firstly recognise that there is a huge pressure coming for families in terms of energy costs, actually there is a huge pressure now, but we can see coming to the autumn that that is going to get worse.

       “So we need to be in a position to have targeted support to those families but then in terms of paying for that as we look at the balance between how much is done through debt and how much is done through revenue raising, we need to do that in a way that doesn’t deter investment.”

       The Government's approach is expected to see the amount paid in tax linked to the amount oil and gas firms invest. “The more you invest, the less you contribute,” was how one source described it.

       The timing of the Government's new announcement on cost of living support has raised eyebrows in Westminster, coming just one day after the Sue Gray report into partygate was published.

       But Steve Barclay, the No 10 chief of staff and a Tory MP, has rejected the suggestion that the Government is trying to distract from the report.

       Asked about the timing, he told Sky News: “I think it is because we have had the Ofgem guidance. Firstly, on the Sue Gray report we don’t control the timing of that… what we have always said is in terms of the fiscal response we wanted to see from the Ofgem guidance what the full impact would be in the autumn on families so that we can get the design of that package right, so it is absolutely logical.

       “We have had that guidance this week from Ofgem, that is why the Chancellor is coming forward today. It is also, in terms of parliament and the parliamentary timetable, parliament will be off next week for the Jubilee, so it is logical before Parliament goes into a recess on the back of the Ofgem guidance this week that we then bring forward this statement.”

       Rishi Sunak will today unveil a new package of support to help address the cost of living crisis. This is what we are expecting:

       You can read the full overnight story on the package here.

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

       The Government will today try to move on from the partygate scandal as Rishi Sunak unveils a new package of support to address the cost of living crisis.

       We are expecting the Chancellor to make a statement in the House of Commons later this morning.

       I will guide you through the key developments.

       Need help?

       Visit our adblocking instructions page.