PM FIGHTS ON AND VOWS HE WON'T QUIT

MINISTERS RALLY AROUND BORIS AMID WARNING OF LOSSES IN RED WALL SEATS

- David Bond and Rachael Burford

ALLIES of Boris Johnson today rallied around him to remain as Prime Minister amid a warning that the Tories risk losing a string of “Red Wall” seats at the next General Election.

Cabinet ministers lined up to defend Mr Johnson after he became the first serving premier to be sanctioned for breaking the law when he was fined £50 yesterday for attending a surprise birthday party at Downing Street in June 2020.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats called for Mr Johnson to resign but he won strong support from Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, a long-term backer of the Prime Minister.

He said: “I think, as with everything in life, the Prime Minister has apologised. We have all done things that we regret. We have all done things that we get wrong, but I’m a big believer of looking at people in the round and judging them in the context of all of their actions, and not just on a single action.”

But Mr Houchen went on to warn that the partygate affair had damaged trust and that it would be an “uphill struggle” for the Conservatives to retain a number of seats in the North and Midlands, which switched from Labour to the Tories for the first time in the 2019 election.