Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives vote of no confidence

Boris Johnson has survived a vote of no confidence after Conservative MPs backed him to stay as leader in a secret ballot.

A vote was triggered when party chiefs confirmed that more than 54 MPs had written to formally request that a ballot take place.

Under party rules, 180 MPs would have needed to back the vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister for there to be a leadership contest.

However, that threshold was not reached. 211 MPs voted for Boris Johnson, 148 voted that they had no confidence in him.

His victory means that he cannot face another vote of no confidence for a year.

Earlier today, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservative 1922 committee, revealed that he had on Sunday notified the Prime Minister that enough MPs had submitted letters requesting a vote of no confidence take place.

Cabinet ministers rallied behind the Prime Minister during what amounted to a day-long campaign, saying he should remain in the role.

But Jeremy Hunt - his leadership rival in the contest to succeed Theresa May - said he would not be backing Boris.

MP Sir Roger Gale, who was among the first to submit a letter requesting a vote of no confidence, maintained his opposition to the Prime Minister.

He argued that there were plenty of other candidates capable of taking the reins.

The Prime Minister addressed his party's MPs in private this afternoon, setting out his case to stay in the job.

The PM has faced considerable criticism over the 'partygate' saga, with complaints that he misled Parliament about social gatherings that took place in Downing Street in spite of a Covid-19 lockdown on such events.