A TWELFTH MP has publicly criticised the Prime Minister and backed a vote of no confidence in his leadership.
Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme released a statement this afternoon confirming he has now submitted a letter to the 1922 Committee.
It comes after three MPs on Wednesday did the same, followed by the resignations of five of Mr Johnson's top aides in Downing Street.
A total of 54 letters are needed to trigger a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister, and it is unclear how many have now been submitted.
In a statement, Mr Bell said he had originally written his letter to the 1922 Chairman Sir Graham Brady almost a month ago, but had not submitted it.
He said: "I wrote my letter following Prime Minister's Questions on January 12th, when I could not square the Prime Minister's words from the despatch box with his previous statements to the House before Christmas.
"Subsequently I have also struggled to reconcile assurances given directly to me with the implications of Sue Gray's interim findings."
Mr Johnson has repeatedly said that no rules were broken and that there were no parties on various dates, only for photographs and statements to come out later appearing to contradict his claims.
The Prime Minister has dodged questions about his whereabouts on November 13, 2020, when a gathering is said to have been held at his flat and which the police are now investigating.
Despite reports in the Telegraph on Wednesday that Mr Johnson was seen going into the flat that evening, he refused to comment on the reports when challenged at PMQs this week.
Mr Bell continued: "As someone who backed Brexit and backed Boris Johnson for the leadership in 2019, I am profoundly disappointed that it has come to this.
"The Government that the Prime Minister has led has delivered some huge successes, including the vaccine rollout and nearly £35m for Newcastle-under-Lyme to level up.
"However, the breach of trust that the events in No 10 Downing Street represent, and the manner in which they have been handled, makes his position untenable.
"I believe it is in the country's best interests that this matter is resolved as soon as possible. I do not intend to comment further at this time."
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