Aaron Bell submits letter of no confidence in the PM
Conservative MP Aaron Bell has announced his submission of a letter of no confidence letter in the prime minister.
A dozen Conservative backbenchers have so far done the same, including ex-defence secretary Tobias Ellwood, Peter Aldous and Anthony Mangnall.
Aaron Bell, first elected to the seat of Newcastle-Under-Lyme in 2019 expressed his “profound disappointment” in Boris Johnson’s leadership.
“I was standing up for people, people who had much worse experiences,” Bell told MPs on Monday, during the prime minister’s statement on Sue Gray’s initial report.
“What I have problems with is process, and following the rules,” he said, adding: “I’m rebelling because the people who make the rules aren’t obeying them.”
Referring to Monday’s update from Gray’s probe into the series of gatherings that occured in Downing St and Whitehall during lockdown, Bell said that some “should not have been allowed to take place”.
“People were taking the first lockdown really seriously, to hear what was going on in the heart of the government at the same time, damages people’s trust and confidence.
“There are 12 events being investigated by the Metropolitan Police, which tells you how serious it is, a number of which, he [Johnson] is alleged to be at.”
