Craig Whittaker has become the second MP to call for Boris Johnson to step down following his fine for breaching Covid rules.

The Halifax Courier reports that the Calder Valley MP told a Facebook Q and A broadcast yesterday evening: “I not only think that the Prime Minister should resign but I also think that Rishi Sunak should resign as well.

“Through this whole process it hasn’t been particularly clear that the Prime Minister broke any rules until of course he’s been issued with a fixed penalty notice this week. My expectation is that he and the Chancellor should do the right thing and resign.

“The reality is that they’re not going to resign. We’ve seen that from the press and they’ve both issued apologies so I suspect we’ll end up where we are and moving on.”

However, Whittaker said he will not forward a letter of no confidence to the 1922 committee as he thought a vote would distract the government from its “day-to-day” business.

An official No 10 spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the chancellor and prime minister were fined over the latter’s 2020 birthday gathering, stating: “on 19th June 2020 at the Cabinet Room 10 Downing Street between 1400 and 1500 you participated in a gathering of two or more people indoors in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street”.