Sunderland MP Bridget Phillipson urges Boris Johnson to resign after police confirm lockdown breach investigation

Houghton and Sunderland South MP and Shadow secretary of state for education Bridget Philipson accused the Prime Minister of lying over the alleged breaking of the rules.

She said the stories have made the UK an "international laughing stock" and criticised ministers for "coming up with ridiculous excuses" over what happened.

She told Sky News: "I think it's now for senior Conservative politicians, for the Conservative Party, to think whether they really want to continue to put the country through this.

"It's time the Prime Minister just did the decent thing and resigned.

"They're so mired in scandal and are making excuses for what's been going on, but they're not in a position to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that families are facing."

The Prime Minister is due to appear in the Commons today, Wednesday, January 26, with his future in the balance as senior civil servant Sue Gray is expected to submit the findings of her inquiry into parties held in No 10 and Whitehall during the lockdowns this week.

But Ms Phillipson said: "I don't think we need Sue Gray to tell us what is absolutely clear to the British people, which is that the Prime Minister has lied and lied and lied again.

"He's taken us all for fools, treated the British people with complete contempt, and we have this ridiculous spectacle of the Foreign Secretary and a whole litany of senior ministers paraded out every day to come up with ever more ridiculous excuses for what we all knew happened."

And she defended Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer against claim he had broken the rules: "It's just ridiculous to compare the two,” he said.

" I can tell you what - if Keir Starmer were prime minister, he wouldn't have been holding boozy parties in the Number 10 garden during lockdown."

She added that Boris Johnson "thinks we're all born yesterday" and "we can't see exactly what's gone on".

"It is just completely wrong. It is a shameful spectacle," she added.

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