Boris Johnson 'has no plans to quit amid partygate scandal and will seek re-election in 2024'
A growing number of Tory backbenchers are speaking out against their leader, as ITV News' Shehab Khan reports
Boris Johnson reportedly has no plans to quit and vows to stand again as prime minister in the 2024 general election, despite the mounting partygate row.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, the PM dismissed calls from across the political divide to resign, saying: "I've got a lot more to do."
He added that he was "certainly not" done with the PM role, despite yet more allegations of Covid-19 lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties surfacing on Tuesday evening.
And in another crushing blow, three further letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership were submitted on Wednesday.
Sir Gary Streeter joined senior Tory Tobias Ellwood and Anthony Mangnall on the growing list of backbench Conservatives calling to have Mr Johnson removed. The embattled PM told The Sun: “I am getting on with the job and I will do so for as long as I have the privilege and honour to serve in this position.”
He added that he was now focused on the 2024 general election.
When asked about Dominic Cummings - the PM's former top aide who now relentlessly accuses Mr Johnson of breaking lockdown rules - he said: “I am focused not on my critics, I won't accept criticism from the Labour party or anywhere else. "My job is to get on with what the public elected me to do, the best answer to any criticism is to deliver. “This is the government that delivered Brexit; delivered an 80 seat majority; delivered the fastest booster rollout; and the fastest economic growth in the G7."
Mr Johnson also raised his plan to "level up Britain", which was released on Wednesday.
"We want to go much further - we want to have a pro-enterprise, better-regulated economy," he said.
“The fundamental idea is that we need to get business, enterprise and the private sector to invest in places around the country that for too long people have though the only answer is state handouts.
“Instead it needs to be about opportunity, conservatism, people taking their lives into their own hands and making the most of their potential."
The PM has been struggling to change the partygate narrative, despite travelling more than 2,000 kilometres away from Westminster this week. He flew to Ukraine in a bid to help prevent a Russian invasion there, but he could not escape allegations of Covid-19 lockdown-breaking gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall, and was even asked about it while holding a press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky. More allegations against Mr Johnson surfaced on Tuesday evening, with newspapers reporting he was inside his flat for a gathering which is currently being investigated by police. It is one of 12 events subject to criminal investigations by the Metropolitan Police, which launched its own probe after being passed evidence by Sue Gray - the civil servant who was conducting an internal inquiry into partygate. She condemned a "failure of leadership" in Number 10 under the prime minister's watch, but was unable to give evidence of any potential criminality that she'd uncovered because of the police investigation. Number 10 has committed to publish her full findings when the police probe concludes within "weeks".