A number of senior UK Conservative Party lawmakers have made it clear that if Prime Minister Boris Johnson fails to take responsibility for lockdown-breaking parties on Downing Street, they will be ready to force the PM out.
Speaking to The Guardian, former Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood urged Johnson to show his resolve to end the chaos within days and demonstrate a new kind of leadership.
"But if he tries to spin his way out of a critical report, he will lose my support", Ellwood stressed, referring to senior civil servant Sue Gray's internal investigation into a host of COVID rule-breaking social gatherings at No 10 between 2020 and 2021. The results of the probe are due to be announced on Monday.
Tory MP Tim Loughton showed a tougher stance, telling The Guardian that he has "regretfully come to the conclusion that Boris Johnson's position is now untenable" and that "his resignation is the only way to bring this whole unfortunate episode to an end". Loughton added that he is "working with colleagues to impress that view on No 10".
Conservative MP for Waveney in Suffolk, Peter Aldous, said that he was close to calling for Johnson's resignation but that he would wait for the publication of the Gray report.
Aldous also stated that "an awful lot people who voted [for] Brexit do feel very badly let down", something that he explained was not due to the repercussions from the UK's exit from the EU but because of the PM's personal behaviour.
The Guardian quoted an unnamed Tory MP as saying that they had been approached by local Conservative Tory councillors, who earlier voted for Johnson but are now demanding he stand down. "I can say my councillors are very pissed off", the lawmaker stated.
The newspaper also referred to a senior Whitehall source, who told The Guardian that as far as Sue Gray is concerned, she is "disappointed in what she is finding but personally she is robust".
"We will get the unvarnished truth. If she sees direct responsibility, she will be clear. That is why I think this is going to be uncomfortable for everyone. Everyone is going to take their share of the blame", the insider asserted.
The remarks were made as a survey of Conservative Party members found that more than half believe Johnson should step down over the "partygate" scandal. About 53% of the more than 1,000 respondents said the prime minister should quit "immediately", 43% were against it, and 4% were undecided, according to the poll.
In a separate development, The Independent reported that the PM is considering staging "Operation Save Big Dog", which purportedly stipulates the possible departures of the prime minister's Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield and Private Secretary Martin Reynolds, part of Johnson's efforts to keep his job amid the "partygate" furore.
The blueprint also reportedly envisages a communications "grid" to underscore a contrite prime minister and tout his achievements amid the difficult choices posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this week, Johnson apologised for attending a "bring your own booze" Downing Street garden party in May 2020, but did not explicitly admit any wrongdoing as he claimed that he had assumed the gathering was a work event.
Responding to numerous calls to quit, the PM underlined that he did not think he should preempt the outcome of the investigation conducted by Sue Gray.