Steve Baker abandons Boris. Will more MPs follow?

Will Boris Johnson live to regret his trip to India? As the Prime Minister gets on with government business abroad, he is facing a hostile parliamentary party with a string of Tory MPs coming out to call for him to go. MPs are debating Labour’s call for an inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament. The Tory discomfort over the issue is evidenced by the fact the whips have changed their position on that vote several times – eventually concluding that it will be a free vote. The expectation among ministers is that this will mean many MPs will just miss the vote and Labour’s motion will pass.

But more worrying for No. 10 than another inquiry is the fact that greater numbers of Tory MPs are coming out of the woodwork and calling for Johnson to go. After William Wragg reiterated his call for Johnson to go – expressing his frustration at being ‘asked to defend the indefensible’ – Steve Baker has followed suit.