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LONDON. — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing further calls to resign, with former defence minister Tobias Ellwood joining those Tory MPs urging a vote on his premiership.

The former minister said he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM, amid the ongoing row over lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Devon MP Anthony Mangnall also revealed yesterday he has done the same, criticising Johnson’s “mistruths”.

At PMQs, Johnson did not address questions about events held in No 10.

A handful of Tory MPs have publicly revealed they have submitted letters to the backbench group which runs leadership contests. At least 54 need to write to the committee chairman Graham Brady to set up a vote on the PM’s future.

Johnson is seeking to head off a leadership challenge prompted by weeks of damaging headlines about parties in government buildings held whilst Covid restrictions were in place.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson refused to confirm press reports that he was at a party in his Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020.

The gathering is one of 12 events in Downing Street and Whitehall being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for alleged Covid-rule breaking.

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford claimed Johnson misled MPs in December last year when he denied being at this event.

“Surely he doesn’t need to wait for an investigation to tell us exactly where he was?” asked Blackford.

Johnson said processes had to be followed and he was getting on with delivering the government’s recovery plan.

Ellwood, who chairs the Commons Defence Committee, called on the PM to “cut to the chase, to call a vote of confidence in himself” and said the party was on a “glide path to a very, very dark place”.

He said the prime minister had not shown enough “contrition” in his Commons statement on Sue Gray’s report, on Monday, and had already had plenty of time to make the changes he had promised. _BBCWorld