A prominent Conservative MP has said there is 'not a better time to get rid of Boris Johnson' than at moment as he called for a summer leadership election.
Andrew Brigden, a member of the highly Eurosceptic European Research Group, spoke out following the dramatic resignation this evening of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid from the Uk Government.
"There's not a better time to rid get of Boris Johnson and have a new Prime Minister. We have summer recess in less than two weeks time and that's when we should be having our leadership election," he told the BBC.
"We need to get it right this time because we are going to be having a general election in the next two years or so and we want Conservative policies run with someone with integrity and leadership and quite honestly integrity, leadership, courage."
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen.
Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg has confirmed that he will continue to back Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
The Brexit Opportunities Minister told Sky News: “The Prime Minister won a large mandate in a general election, a vote of the British people and that should not be taken away from him because a number of people resign.”
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack also gave the PM his support.
“I fully support the Prime Minister. I am sorry to see good colleagues resign, but we have a big job of work to do, and that’s what we’re getting on with," he said tonight.
Mr Sunak quit as chancellor and Mr Javid resigned as health secretary as Mr Johnson's leadership faced a fresh crisis.
Mr Sunak said "the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously", adding "I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."
In an incendiary letter, Mr Javid said the British people "expect integrity from their government" but voters now believed Mr Johnson's administration was neither competent nor "acting in the national interest".
The resignations came as Mr Johnson was forced into a humiliating apology over his handling of the Chris Pincher row after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of "inappropriate" conduct.
Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members' club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.
The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.
Asked if that was an error, Mr Johnson said: "I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.
"I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. I want to make absolutely clear that there's no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power."
The Prime Minister's authority had already been damaged by a confidence vote which saw 41% of his MPs vote against him.
The loss of crunch by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield in June triggered the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden.
But the resignations of Mr Javid - a former leadership contender - and Mr Sunak, viewed as a potential successor to the Prime Minister, mean Mr Johnson's position is now perilous.
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