Sir Patrick Vallance 'disappointed' by Partygate scandal - but that's no surprise

Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, became for many something of a hero for the way he helped protect us from Covid-19 during the pandemic.

So ITV News asked him: "Has the so-called Partygate scandal tarnished how you reflect on your time at the heart of government during the pandemic."

Sir Patrick replied: "It was really important at all stages that everyone stuck to the rules, there’s no question about that.

"It only works when people stick to them and it’s very disappointing that that wasn’t the case."

There is no surprise he is disappointed that the PM and many others in Downing Street broke the Covid rules they had a hand in writing and enforced on the rest of us.

But after Boris Johnson was rejected yesterday by 41% of his MPs, Vallance’s public criticism will sting him.

How Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote:

The prime minister was forced to endure a confidence vote instigated by his own MPs who became furious over his handling of the Partygate scandal.

It was announced on the Monday morning following the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend that more than 54 Tory MPs had demanded a vote of no confidence in the PM and he would face a poll on his leadership that evening.

He scraped through to survival with a much smaller portion of the vote than he would have expected.

The under-fire PM won with just 59% of the vote as a huge 148 Tory MPs said they wanted to replace him.

Just 211 Tory MPs supported him out of all 359 who cast their ballots.

However, Mr Johnson insisted it was an “extremely good” result.

“I think it’s an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery and that is exactly what we are going to do,” he told reporters in Downing Street.