Boris Johnson: have any Tory MPs in the West Midlands resigned and what have they said?

Boris Johnson has been left fighting for his political future after Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor and Sajid Javid quit as health secretary.

The Prime Minister has been hit by a series of resignations over his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.

Mr Pincher quit his job as deputy chief whip following claims he groped two men, however Mr Johnson knew about allegations against him as far back as 2019. It later emerged that the Prime Minister had “forgotten” about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct.

An apology from Mr Johnson was not enough to prevent the departure of two senior ministers and several others from their roles on Tuesday (5 July). At the last count, Mr Johnson has received 32 resignations in the past 24 hours.

Have any Conservative MPs in the West Midlands resigned?

Meriden MP Saqib Bhatti joined other government ministers on Tuesday (5 July) night by resigning from his role as Parliamentary Private Secretary.

Posting on Twittter, he wrote: “The Conservative party has always been the party of integrity and honour but recent events have undermined trust and standards in public life. It is for this reason that sadly, I must resign. I will continue working hard for my constituents on the issues that matter to them.”

He was joined by West Bromwich East MP Nicola Richards. She wrote on Twitter: “I will always remain loyal to my constituents and the Conservative Party. Tonight I’ve made the tough decision to resign as a PPS.”

Birmingham Conservative MP calls on PM to resign

The House of Commons chamber erupted into cheers and applause on Wednesday (6 July) after Birmingham’s Northfield MP told Boris Johnson there is nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Gary Sambrook staunchly criticised Mr Johnson for telling MPs they should have intervened over Chris Pincher’s alleged behaviour at the Carlton Club.

The MP described the Prime Minister’s comments as “insulting” and as an example of him constantly trying to deflect from the issue and “blaming other people” for his mistakes.

After calling for his resignation, a resounding applause broke out from the Opposition benches – a form of ovation which was immediately scolded by the Commons Speaker, who reminded members of Parliament that “this is not a debating society”.

Mr Sambrook said: “Yesterday, in an attempt to boost morale in the tearoom, the Prime Minister said at a table that there were seven people, MPs in the Carlton Club last week, that one of them should have tried to intervene to stop Chris (Pincher) from drinking so much.

“As if that wasn’t insulting enough to the people who did try to intervene that night, and also to the victims, that drink was the problem. Isn’t it the example that the Prime Minister constantly tries to deflect from the issue, always tries to blame other people for mistakes and that at least (there is) nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign?”

What have other Birmingham MPs said?

Birmingham’s other Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield), appeared on Newsnight last night, and said Johnson’s reign “is over.”

He said: “I’m afraid it is over, and the question now is, how much longer is this going to go on? and what damage will be done to this country and the Conservative Party brand?

“But it is over, and tonight the Prime Minister must think very carefully about what is in the best interests of the country and the Conservative Party.”

See the full clip above.

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