Backbench Tory Nigel Mills said: “I do not think the Prime Minister can or should survive by violating the rules he has set … He has been fined, I do not think his position is credible.” Mr Mills, an Amber Valley lawmaker, said people were “justifiably angry” at the parties. “When they followed the strictest rules, the people who made the rules did not have the decency to follow them.” He also told the BBC Radio Derby that “we need to have higher standards than the people at the top” – saying he was “afraid to think” about how many more fines could be imposed. However, Mr Mills added: “It is quite clear that he is not going to resign and I would be very surprised if there were 180 of my colleagues who wanted to change prime minister at this stage.” Mr Johnson seemed ready to avoid an initial impact by becoming the first prime minister to be punished with criminal sanctions while in power for violating his No. 10 birthday law. The Prime Minister, his wife and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have all paid fines imposed by the Metropolitan Police for a party held on June 19, 2020 to celebrate Mr. Johnson’s 56th birthday. Cabinet ministers Liz Truss, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Nadine Dorries and Sajid Javid tweeted their support for Mr Johnson, praising his leadership and pointing to the ongoing provocation of the war in Ukraine. However, Mr Mills said he was “not convinced” by the argument that it was not the right time for a change of leadership in the UK, given the crisis in Ukraine. The backbencher said: “I have two comments on that. The first is, when will Ukraine be better than it is now? If you told me that this crisis would be over in three months, then you could say, “Okay, let’s do this (then) the prime minister can have his fate.” Veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale, a vocal critic of Mr Johnson, said it was not time to overthrow him during the Ukraine war. He said that “history would not forgive us” if the prime minister replaced him during an international crisis. However, Sir Roger said that while he believed Johnson had “substantially misled the House of Commons” and “he should be clearly accountable”. Scottish leader Tory Douglas Ross reiterated his colleagues’ sentiments, saying it “would not be right” for the prime minister to step down “at this time” during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who recently withdrew his letter of rebuke to Mr Johnson, said it was not the time to challenge the leadership. But he warned: “This is not the end of the matter.” However, Baroness Ruth Davidson spoke openly against Mr Johnson, saying she “broke the rules she imposed on the country and lost the moral authority to lead. Must go away”. Boris Johnson claims that “it did not cross his mind” that he was breaking rules Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, told the LBC that he did not believe “a definite penalty notice is in itself a reason to resign” – arguing for Mr Johnson to lead the Tory party to the next election. But Tory’s peer said the prime minister had to come to the Commons to correct his comments. “The prime minister is telling parliament that all the rules were followed and there were no parties – obviously that is not the case.” Ben Houchen, the powerful Tories mayor of the Tees Valley, also defended the prime minister. He said that the public “recognizes that he is a person with defects; he wears it up his sleeve. And that makes him more human for a lot of people. “ A YouGov poll found that 57 percent of voters thought Johnson should resign, while 75 percent said he lied knowingly.
