Steve Baker

Conservative Steve Baker has said his constituents are " about 60 to one against the prime minster" amid The Row over No 10 parties during the lockdown.

The MP said " rule-makers must obey The Rules " but added he would wait for Sue Gray's report before taking any action.

Opposition parties, as well as six Conservative MPs, have called on Boris Johnson to resign over the issue.

But minister Nadhim Zahawi said the PM would remain in place, adding that " he's human and we make mistakes".

Last week, Mr Johnson admitted attending an event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020 during The First coronavirus lockdown.

He Said he had stayed at the drinks for 25 minutes to thank staff for their Hard Work and had believed it to be a work gathering.

Downing Street has neither confirmed nor denied a report in The Daily Telegraph that Mr Johnson has been interviewed by Ms Gray, the senior civil servant carrying out an inquiry into this and other gatherings on government premises during Covid restrictions.

Mr Baker's comments come after his Conservative colleagues spent the weekend canvassing Public Opinion on the Prime Minister , with some reporting widespread anger with Boris Johnson .

Speaking outside Downing Street, Mr Baker told reporters: " My constituents at The Moment are about 60 to one against the Prime Minister .

" I've listened very carefully to members of my [Conservative Party ] association, too. There are some very strident voices in my constituency demanding that I support the Prime Minister .

" What I would say is I made my view very clear at the beginning of December: that there must be one rule for all; that the rule-makers must obey The Rules that they apply on others. "

He Said MPs were waiting for the result of Ms Gray's investigation.

The former minister is an influential voice among Conservative MPs, having previously led a powerful pro-Brexit group within the parliamentary party.

He supported Mr Johnson to become leader of The Party in 2019, but has recently been critical over some of his decisions on coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's ex-senior aide Dominic Cummings has accused the Prime Minister of knowing he was at a party when he went to The Event on 20 May 2020.

Mr Cummings said Mr Johnson " knew he was at a drinks party cos he was told it was a drinks party and it was actually a drinks party".

Last week, Mr Johnson told MPs in Parliament he " believed implicitly" The Event was work-related.

And No 10 has said it is " untrue" he was warned about The Event in advance.

Another Conservative MP, Chris Loder , said he had received hundreds of emails about parties, adding: " I'm not going to call for anyone's resignation until I've seen the facts, but then real action is required, And Then we shall go from there. "

For a Conservative Party leadership contest to be triggered, 54 Conservative MPs must write to The Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady , to say they no longer have confidence in the Prime Minister .

On Sunday, former minister Tim Loughton became The Sixth Tory MP to call on Mr Johnson to resign, Saying his position was " untenable".

he added The Public deserved " clarity, honesty and contrition" instead of " obfuscation, prevarication and evasion".

It is reported that those around Mr Johnson have started " Operation Save Big Dog" which could include an overhaul of his top team, following criticisms of the culture within Downing Street.

But Education Secretary Mr Zahawi told Bbc Breakfast : " Honestly, I don't recognise that at all. "

Mr Johnson's official spokesman also dismissed reports of " Operation Red Meat " - rushing out policies popular within The Party to bolster the PM - Saying : " None of these issues are things that we have not been seeking to address for some time.

" [The government is] continuing to deliver on those policy priorities. "

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told LBC radio Mr Johnson was " too weak to Lead . . he has lost all authority and that matters, whatever party you are in, " he added.

Sir Keir has said a picture of him drinking beer in an office last spring did not show a breach of Covid rules in place at The Time .

The Labour leader said The Photograph , which first emerged Last Year , was of him in a constituency office in the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election.

" There is simply no comparison" to the culture within Downing Street, Sir Keir said, adding that Conservatives bringing it up were trying " to take everyone into the gutter with them".

But Mr Zahawi said he hoped Sir Keir " finds [it] within himself to apologise" over The Image .

Source of news: bbc.com