PM refuses to say if he will quit as criticism of partygate grows

Boris Johnson has faced fresh calls from Tory MPs to consider his position, but dodged questions about whether he misled parliament-only saying he would make a statement next week clarifying his knowledge of Covid rule-breaking parties.

- Aubrey Allegretti

The prime minister's position was weakened further when the solicitor general, Alex Chalk, refused to defend his behaviour and admitted that senior politicians had a special duty to "act in a way that is beyond reproach”.

Despite efforts by Johnson's allies to buttress his position and avoid the threat of a no-confidence vote escalating after he was fined by police, more Conservative MPs went public with their criticism of his attendance at a birthday celebration in No 10 during England's first national lockdown.

Those who spoke out yesterday included the former cabinet minister Karen Bradley and the Conservative MP Neil Hudson.

"I do wish to make it clear that if I had been a minister found to have broken the laws that I passed, I would be tendering my resignation now," said Bradley, who added she would consult her Staffordshire Moorlands constituents before deciding “what action to take".