More turmoil for embattled Boris Johnson

Britain's prime minister facing extra pressure as supporters change stance

The likelihood of the United Kingdom's prime minister being booted from office by lawmakers from his ruling Conservative Party increased during the weekend, with more former supporters joining the ranks of those infuriated by claims he partied during the nation's novel coronavirus lockdowns.

With police investigating allegations Boris Johnson broke the rules he created, a report from a senior bureaucrat already concluding he did, and with five of his senior advisors leaving their jobs in the span of a few hours, the Conservative Party is being lobbied hard to select a new prime minister.

If the party receives 54 so-called letters of no-confidence from among its 360 members of Parliament, a leadership election would be triggered.

So far, 15 Conservative Party lawmakers have publicly called on him to either resign or be replaced. On Friday, Nick Gibb, a former member of the Cabinet, joined them.

He wrote in The Telegraph newspaper on Saturday that his constituents were "furious about the double standards".

He said: "To restore trust, we need to change the prime minister."

Conservative Party MP Stephen Hammond told Radio 4's Week in Westminster he too is "considering very carefully" whether to write a letter.

He said he would be "reflecting on the events of the week, reflecting on the fact that my constituents and I and almost all of the country obeyed rules, and there seems to be a group of people who haven't".

The Conservative Party does not comment on how many letters of no-confidence it receives but The Guardian newspaper said lawmakers wanting to get rid of Johnson believe they only need between 10 and 20 more.

The Observer newspaper said several MPs are planning to submit letters early this week, before lawmakers begin a 10-day recess on Thursday.

Charles Walker, a former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party's committee of backbench MPs, told the paper the prime minister should resign before he is ousted.

"It is an inevitable tragedy," Walker said. "He is a student of Greek and Roman tragedy. It is going to end in him going, so I just want him to have some agency in that."

Johnson, meanwhile, has insisted people should wait for the police investigation to finish, and for the publication of the full parliamentary report before making up their minds. He has said that, while many of the events did happen, he did not organize them and thought at the time they were work-related and therefore allowed.

Nadine Dorries, the UK's culture secretary, told the BBC she believes the "vast majority" of Conservative Party lawmakers still support Johnson, who announced two new appointments to his backroom team on Saturday.

Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay was named Johnson's new chief of staff and Guto Harri will be his director of communications.

Johnson, who clearly hopes the appointments will signal a change in the way things are done at 10 Downing Street and placate some of his critics, said: "I promised change, so that we can get on with the job the British public elected us to do."

The BBC said he is expected to announce the appointment of more advisors in the coming days, including people who will be tasked with improving communication between him and his lawmakers.

The Financial Times newspaper said he is also considering making changes around the Cabinet table and among lawmakers responsible for internal party discipline.

The Guardian newspaper quoted Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, as saying: "Boris Johnson is panicking as he frantically rearranges deckchairs. The prime minister has clearly run out of serious people willing to serve under his chaotic and incompetent leadership."