Breaking
Partygate: Ex-cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom
condemns Boris Johnson's 'unacceptable failings of leadership'
The leading Brexiteer is part of a growing number of
ex-cabinet ministers to have publicly criticised Boris Johnson following the
Sue Gray report, which revealed raucous rule-breaking partying throughout the
pandemic.
Alix
Culbertson
Political
reporter @alixculbertson
Tuesday 31
May 2022 12:01, UK
The former
cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has blamed Boris Johnson for
"unacceptable failings of leadership" over the partygate scandal.
The former
business secretary is the 40th Conservative MP to have questioned Mr Johnson's
position as prime minister since he was fined by the Met for breaching lockdown
rules in Downing Street, according to a Sky News tally.
Dame Andrea
sent a letter to her South Northamptonshire constituents on Monday, in which
she said that after careful study of the Sue Gray report into the partygate
scandal "it is painfully clear to me that given the extent and severity of
rule-breaking taking place over a 20-month period, it is extremely unlikely
that senior leaders were unaware of what was going on".
The senior
Brexiteer, who supported Mr Johnson in his leadership campaign, said: "I,
therefore, agree with Sue Gray's conclusions that there have been significant
failures of leadership, both political and official, in No 10 and the Cabinet
Office.
"The
conclusion I have drawn from the Sue Gray report is that there have been
unacceptable failings of leadership that cannot be tolerated and are the
responsibility of the prime minister."
She added
that she and all Conservative MPs "must now decide on what is the right
course of action that will restore confidence in our government".
A steady
drip of Tory MPs voicing their displeasure with the prime minister after the
release of the Sue Gray report last Wednesday has turned into more of a stream.
Three more
came forward on Monday, including Elliot Colburn, one of the 2019 intake, who
confirmed he has sent a letter of no confidence in the prime minister to the
chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers.
This brings
it to 27 Tory MPs who have publicly called for the PM to go over the partygate
scandal.
Former
Conservative leader Lord Hague reacted to Dame Andrea's comments by telling
Times Radio: "The fuse is getting closer to the dynamite here and it's
speeding up."
He said the
PM is in "real trouble" when senior Tories such as Dame Andrea and
Sir Bob Neill come out against him.
Lord Hague
said it looks like Mr Johnson could face a leadership vote "either next
week or around the end of June".
A total of
54 letters - 10% of Tory MPs - must be handed to Sir Graham Brady to trigger a
leadership vote, and he is the only person who knows how many have been
submitted.
Ahead of
the threshold being met for a leadership vote in Theresa May, only 24 MPs had
revealed they had submitted a letter, but 48 or more letters had actually been
handed in.
Downing
Street is likely preparing for a possible leadership vote, which is unlikely to
happen this week as MPs are on recess.
Some MPs
have said they will not reveal their opinions on the conclusion of the Sue Gray
report until after recess, which has prompted speculation in Westminster that
more will hand in letters next week.
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