John Baron, the Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, has become the latest Conservative MP to withdraw his support for Boris Johnson and call for the resignation of the Prime Minister.
In a statement on his website, Mr Baron said: “Sue Gray’s report and the Metropolitan Police investigation are showing a shameful pattern of misconduct during the pandemic, as the rest of us followed the regulations of Those responsible for setting the rules have a special duty to abide by them.
“However, for me the most serious accusation against the Prime Minister is that of knowingly deceiving Parliament. Given the scale of non-compliance with the rules at number 10, I cannot accept that the first The Minister was unaware, therefore, that his repeated assurances to Parliament that there were no breaches of the rules were simply not credible.
“For some, this may seem like a trivial point given world events. However, a fundamental principle of our constitution is that we can trust that the answers we receive in Parliament are truthful and accurate. Parliament is the beating heart of our nation.It cannot be tolerated to consciously deceive him, whatever the problem.Whether or not the prime minister is an asset to the party or the country is of less importance.
“Having always said that I would take into account all the evidence available before deciding, I am afraid that the Prime Minister will no longer enjoy my support; I can no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.”