UK partygate: calls for Boris Johnson's ouster as PM grow within his party

There is a gradual build up of members of Parliament from within the UK's ruling Conservative Party who have voiced their concerns over the partygate scandal, calling for party leader Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister.

The total number of openly critical MPs has risen to 26 since the publication of an inquiry report into Covid lockdown law-breaking parties at Downing Street by top civil servant Sue Gray last week.

While former UK Cabinet minister and attorney-general Jeremy Wright posted a statement on his website on Monday to say Johnson must resign "for the good of this and future governments", Tory MP Elliot Colburn said he was "appalled at the revelations of the poor treatment of security and cleaning staff".

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The threshold to trigger a confidence vote against the Prime Minister is 54 letters of no-confidence, a secret process with only the chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs aware of the exact figure.