Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Partygate: 27 MPs now want PM Boris Johnson to resign

The threshold to trigger a confidence vote against the Prime Minister is 54 letters of no-confidence

Partygate: 27 MPs now want PM Boris Johnson to resign

There is a gradual build up of members of Parliament from within the UK's ruling Conservative Party who have voiced their concerns over the partygate scandal, calling for party leader Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister.

The total number of openly critical MPs has risen to 27 since the publication of an inquiry report into COVID lockdown law-breaking parties at Downing Street by top civil servant Sue Gray last week.


While former UK Cabinet minister and attorney-general Jeremy Wright posted a statement on his website on Monday to say Johnson must resign "for the good of this and future governments", Tory MP Elliot Colburn said he was "appalled at the revelations of the poor treatment of security and cleaning staff".

The threshold to trigger a confidence vote against the Prime Minister is 54 letters of no-confidence, a secret process with only the chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs aware of the exact figure.

However, since Gray's scathing report declared leadership failures were behind a culture of rule-breaking within Downing Street and triggered yet another apology from Johnson, the rebellious voices from within his party have been slowly gaining ground.

A protest asking for the resignation of Boris Johnson in front of the Downing Street gates, in London, on February 6 A protest asking for the resignation of Boris Johnson in front of the Downing Street gates, in London, on February 6 (Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

It comes as some UK media reports claim Johnson's wife, Carrie, faces the prospect of being summoned before a House of Commons committee to explain another secret gathering in the Downing Street flat on the Prime Minister's birthday that was left out of the Gray report.

She, along with Johnson, has already been fined for a party on the day in June 2020 in the Cabinet Room but there have been reports of an informal friends' gathering with Abba music in the prime ministerial residence upstairs that has been mysteriously omitted.

The Commons' Privileges Committee, which is investigating whether Johnson knowingly misled Parliament over the gatherings, is reportedly set to consider making a request to his wife for evidence after the Opposition Labour Party called for the committee to investigate. Angela Rayner, Labour's Deputy Leader, has said Johnson "must come clean with the British people".

Meanwhile, Cabinet ministers have rallied to Johnson's defence since the publication of Gray's report and are keen to move on from the scandal.

The long-awaited report into the partygate scandal detailed examples of excessive drinking, mistreatment of cleaners and security staff, and repeated COVID rule-breaking within government offices during the pandemic, when the rules forbid mixing of different households to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The publication of the report followed the conclusion of a separate Metropolitan Police investigation into 12 lockdown parties at Downing Street and across Whitehall government offices. The Met Police handed out 126 fixed penalty notices, or fines, for rule breaches.

In Parliament last week, Johnson among those fined said he took "full responsibility" for everything that took place on his watch and that he was "humbled" by the findings.

He told MPs that when he had previously said "the rules and guidance had been followed at all times", it had been what he "believed to be true" at the time.

Courtesy: PTI

More For You

LEGO Speed Champions enters Pixar territory with first 2026 set

The build consists of 270 pieces and features the franchise’s red racing hero

LEGO

LEGO Speed Champions enters Pixar territory with first 2026 set

Highlights

  • LEGO confirms first Speed Champions set for 2026: Lightning McQueen.
  • Release coincides with the 20th anniversary of Pixar’s Cars.
  • Unusual for the theme: no minifigure included.

The first 2026 reveal

LEGO has confirmed its first Speed Champions set for 2026, taking the theme in an unexpected direction. Set 77255 Lightning McQueen celebrates the 20th anniversary of Disney and Pixar’s Cars (released 28 July 2006) and marks the first time the theme has focused on a fictional, animated vehicle.

The build consists of 270 pieces and features the franchise’s red racing hero, complete with printed details and stickers, as well as an anniversary logo on the box.

Keep ReadingShow less
lost video games

The Mass Effect series has been in flux since 2017’s underwhelming Andromeda

YouTube/ Mass Effect

7 long-lost games and the chances they’ll ever be released

Highlights:

  • Hollow Knight: Silksong finally released after years of silence.
  • Other long-announced titles remain missing in action.
  • Some may never see the light of day, while others still hold faint hope.

A Post-Silksong World

When Hollow Knight: Silksong was first announced in 2019, many fans doubted it would ever launch. Years of silence fuelled speculation that it was doomed to become vapourware. Against all odds, the long-awaited sequel finally arrived this year, quickly becoming one of 2025’s biggest releases.

Its success has reignited discussion around other long-delayed projects — games teased years ago but still nowhere to be seen. While some might eventually surface, others appear trapped in development limbo.

Keep ReadingShow less
SSMB 29 Kenya shoot

Kenyan leaders hail SS Rajamouli as SSMB 29 with Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra wraps historic shoot

SS Rajamouli turns Kenya into Asia’s biggest film set as Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra wrap Kenya schedule of ‘SSMB 29’

Highlights

  • SS Rajamouli wraps up Kenya schedule of upcoming film SSMB 29
  • Director pens heartfelt note thanking government and locals for support
  • Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra join international cast in action-packed shoot
  • Film expected to release in more than 120 countries, reaching a billion viewers

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has officially wrapped the Kenya schedule of his highly anticipated movie SSMB 29, starring Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra, and expressed his gratitude to the country’s authorities. The director shared a heartfelt note on X, describing Kenya as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” while thanking the government and local communities for their “tremendous support and hospitality.” The schedule strengthens Kenya’s role as a major international filming hub, bringing Indian cinema’s global ambitions into sharper focus.

SSMB 29 Kenya shoot Kenyan leaders hail SS Rajamouli as SSMB 29 with Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra wraps historic shoot X/MusaliaMudavadi

Keep ReadingShow less
Shabana Mahmood

Newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives at Number 10 at Downing Street as Keir Starmer holds a cabinet reshuffle on September 5, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shabana Mahmood named home secretary, Lammy deputy to Starmer in major reshuffle

Highlights:

  • David Lammy becomes deputy prime minister while keeping foreign affairs brief
  • Angela Rayner resigned after admitting underpaid property tax
  • Lisa Nandy to stay on as culture secretary
  • Reshuffle marks first major shake-up of Starmer’s government

SHABANA MAHMOOD has been appointed home secretary in a major reshuffle of prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet following the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Essex Police

Essex Police said the two men driving the cars, both from Barking in east London, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. (Representational image: iStock)

Two Indian students killed, five injured in Essex car crash

TWO students from Telangana, India, have died in a two-car collision at a roundabout in Essex, south-east England. Five other students were seriously injured in the crash, police said.

The accident took place early Monday at the Rayleigh Spur roundabout on the A130. Chaitanya Tarre, 23, died at the scene, while Rishi Teja Rapolu, 21, died later in hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less