Aaron Bell has become the latest Conservative MP to announce publicly that he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
More than a dozen MPs have called openly for the prime minister to resign, including the former defence secretary Tobias Ellwood and the backbenchers Peter Aldous and Anthony Mangnall. More are believed to have submitted letters privately.
“The breach of trust that the events in Downing Street represent, and the manner in which they have been handled, makes [Johnson’s] position untenable,” Bell said in a statement on Friday.
If 54 letters are sent to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, a vote of no confidence would be called – and if Johnson lost it, his premiership would be over.
Some senior Tory MPs believe the total number of letters may be close to 40, though it is never made public until the threshold is breached.
Bell, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, was widely believed to have submitted a letter, after he challenged the prime minister in the House of Commons on Monday.
In the noisy debate after the publication of Sue Gray’s report on Downing Street parties, Bell gave an emotional speech saying he had followed the lockdown rules meticulously, driving three hours each way to his grandmother’s funeral without hugging his family or stopping for a cup of tea. “Does the prime minister think I’m a fool?” he asked pointedly.
In his statement on Friday, Bell confirmed that he had sent his letter to Brady after that clash, and had made it public only after discussions with his local party.
“As someone who backed Brexit and backed Boris Johnson for the leadership in 2019, I am profoundly disappointed that it has come to this,” he said. “I believe it is in the country’s best interests that this matter is resolved as soon as possible.”
It comes as a fresh blow to Johnson after the departure of five senior No 10 aides in less than 24 hours. Johnson has been under intense pressure since Gray’s report identified failures of leadership in Downing Street, and revealed that as many as a dozen parties were under investigation by the Metropolitan police.
He has been accused of misleading parliament after initially insisting that all Covid guidance was followed in Downing Street – a claim that appears inconsistent with the evidence uncovered by Gray.