Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said the party’s MPs will decide on Boris Johnson’s future in “the next few days”.
The senior Tory figure said he was reserving “judgement” on the prime minister until the release of the Sue Gray report into parties in Downing Street during lockdown restrictions.
But Sir Iain condemned the “appalling” social gatherings at No 10 and Whitehall, and made clear that Mr Johnson was now battling to save his premiership.
“When it comes to the judgement on whether the prime minister should remain prime minister, well – that’s a decision many parliamentary members of the Conservative party will make during the course of the next few days,” he told TalkRadio on Wednesday.
The former Tory leader said the culture of Downing Street during the pandemic needed “serious leadership” – suggesting it had been lacking from those at the top.
“The culture in Downing Street, both among civil servants and politicians, needed to have serious leadership from all those relevant,” said Sir Ian. “There should have been instructions nailed onto every single door on the basis that once you have finished work, go home.”
He did say that Mr Johnson had got some of the “big calls” right during the pandemic and said he would make a “calm judgement” once he had read Ms Gray’s report.
Asked about the defence of one loyal Tory MP hat the PM had been “ambushed by cake” at his 2020 birthday bash, Sir Iain said: “My colleagues shouldn’t go round trying to excuse these issues – even the prime minister hasn’t done that.”
He added: “It’s a dangerous time at the moment, and every day we spend on this is a day lost to serious government decisions elsewhere.”
The PM will appear in the Commons with his future still in the balance, with widespread expectation Ms Gray’s report will be made public on Wednesday or Thursday.
Junior minister Conor Burns sought to defend the PM by arguing that he had been “ambushed with a cake” during his No 10 birthday gathering held during lockdown restrictions.
Loyal backbench Tory MP Andrew Rosindell told Sky News on Wednesday that people should move on from the “noise” about “certain members of staff having parties in garden and birthday cake”.
He added: “Are we going to drag another prime minister out of office over something like that? … The prime minister has not committed some horrendous terrible.”
Asked if it was okay for Mr Johnson to break the rules, Mr Rosindell said: “Lots of people break the law in small ways, sometimes unintentionally … He’s not robbed a bank – this is getting out of control.”
Some Conservative MPs have publicly called for Mr Johnson’s resignation. But others have said they will await the publication of the Gray report before trying to trigger a vote of no confidence, which required 54 letters being submitted to the 1922 Committee of backbenchers.
One former Conservative minister – who has made up their mind that Mr Johnson must be replaced – told The Independent: “A serving prime minister investigated by the police is a national embarrassment. If the Gray report is really bad there will a deluge [of letters].”
