British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday suffered an embarrassing defection from his Conservative party over revelations of lockdown-breaching events in Downing Street, but vowed to fight on.
Seven Conservatives said they had filed letters demanding a Tory vote of no confidence against the embattled Mr. Johnson, and more than 20 others were reported to have coalesced in an organised revolt.
With the Opposition Labour party surging in the polls, and inflation reaching a near 30-year high in the latest data, Mr. Johnson is struggling to regain the initiative, starting with an announcement that he is lifting most COVID-19 restrictions in England.
One of the seven Tories, Christian Wakeford, took the dramatic step of joining the Opposition party, minutes before Mr. Johnson faced Labour leader Keir Starmer at their weekly joust in the House of Commons.
Mr. Wakeford said in a message to Mr. Johnson that “you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves”.
Criticism intensified after Mr. Johnson gave a strained television interview on Tuesday, in which he claimed not to be aware that at least one “bring your own booze” event would breach the COVID-19 curbs that he set.
