Tory Partygate meltdown as minister claims Covid rules were 'TOO HARD' to follow after Boris's half-apology and PM cancels visit over positive Covid test in Downing Street - while MORE MPs call for him to quit and Labour takes 10-point lead

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The Tory 'Partygate' meltdown gathered pace today as a minister claimed Covid lockdown rules were 'too hard' to follow in the wake of Boris Johnson's half-apology for a boozy party in Downing Street.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg risked inflaming the row further by complaining that the restrictions imposed by his own government might not have been 'proportionate'.

Cabinet ministers have been desperately rallying round after Mr Johnson admitted attending a boozy No10 gathering during the first Covid lockdown - but claimed he thought it was a 'work event' and was 'technically' inside the rules.

In a sign of the public focus on the furore, the PMQs session attracted three million viewers across all channels - more than the last final of the X-Factor. 

In another twist, Mr Johnson dramatically axed a visit to a Red Wall area in Lancashire where he would have faced more questions about Partygate, after a family member tested positive for Covid.

Mr Johnson is not required to isolate, but Downing Street said he was following advice to 'limit contact with others'. Sources said it was another resident of the No11 flat, but would not confirm if it is Carrie or one of their children. 

Meanwhile, in another blow deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam has quit - although it is not clear whether there is any connection to the Partygate affair or wrangling over the Omicron response. 

The limp mea culpa in the Commons yesterday and so-called 'Operation Save Boris' from allies have failed to quell mounting fury among the public and on the Conservative benches, with a handful of MPs now openly demanding Mr Johnson quits. Ex-minister Caroline Nokes is among the latest to declare Mr Johnson a 'liability'.

Support from some ministers has also been less than fullsome, with Rishi Sunak notably waiting eight hours before merely tweeting that he had been right to apologise and people should wait for the result of senior civil servant Sue Gray's inquiry into alleged lockdown breaches.

Aides of the Chancellor believe he has been unfairly criticised, pointing out that his message was almost identical to that of other ministers. 

Mr Johnson risked undermining any benefit from his apology last night by telling MPs privately that he had done 'nothing wrong' and was 'taking hits for something we don't deserve'. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said this morning that the premier did not believe he had broken the rules.

Mr Rees-Mogg sparked a storm overnight by delivering an extraordinary rebuke to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross overnight. He responded to Mr Ross's call for the PM to resign by branding him a 'lightweight' figure. 

And facing further questions about Partygate in the Commons today Mr Rees-Mogg complained that lockdown rules had been 'very hard for people to obey'.  

'Everybody understands, on all sides of the house, that people were obeying the rules and that these rules were very hard for people to obey,' he said. 

'I received a message last night was from a friend of mine who was unable to go to the funeral of his two-year-old granddaughter. 

'One cannot hear these stories without grieving for people who suffered. Decisions were taken at the beginning of the pandemic that affected people up and down the country and they were very hard.

'And we must consider, as this goes to an inquiry and we look into what happened with Covid, whether all those regulations were proportionate, or whether it was too hard on people.

Downing Street insisted the government had tried to strike the 'right balance' throughout the crisis.  

The comments came after a YouGov poll for the Times laid bare the scale of the damage being suffered by the government, showing the Tories slumping five points to just 28 per cent in less than a week.

Labour has crept up to 38 per cent - the party's biggest advantage since 2013. On an even swing across the country at an election, the figures would see the Conservatives lose 150 seats and put Keir Starmer in No10. 

Six in ten voters believed Mr Johnson should resign, including 38 per cent of Tory voters from his 2019 landslide.  

The research was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but before Mr Johnson got to his feet in the Commons.  

As the PM's future hangs in the balance:  

• Downing Street insisted Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the whole Cabinet still had confidence in the Prime Minister; 
• Whitehall experts have warned that veteran mandarin Sue Gray's report will set out the facts but is not likely to allocate blame directly;
• Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said people know when Mr Johnson is lying because his 'lips move' in the latest brutal attack;
• Sajid Javid has announced that self-isolation is being cut to five full days, so people can escape on the sixth day as long as they test negative on day five and six; 
• Mr Johnson apologised privately to Tory MPs in the Commons tearoom for 'all the c**p I've put you through', but insisted it was 'not his fault'; 
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the PM of 'lying through his teeth' and called on him to quit;   Grieving relatives of Covid victims stepped up calls for the PM to resign; 
• Downing Street refused to say whether Mr Johnson had noticed tables laden with food and drink at the event - or if he had brought a bottle of wine into the garden. 

Boris Johnson's (left) limp mea culpa in the Commons has failed to quell mounting fury among the public and on the Conservative benches, with a handful of MPs now openly demanding he quits

Rishi Sunak was spotted in Whitehall today (left) after conveniently missing PMQs yesterday for a trip to Devon . Ex-minister Caroline Nokes (right)  is among the latest to declare Mr Johnson a 'liability'.

A YouGov poll for the Times has laid bare the scale of the damage being suffered by the government, showing the Tories slumping five points to just 28 per cent in less than a week

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg delivered an extraordinary rebuke to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross overnight. Mr Rees-Mogg responded to Mr Ross's call for the PM to resign by branding him a 'lightweight' figure

Jonathan Van-Tam is leaving his post as one of the Government's top advisers

Mr Johnson and Sajid Javid paid tribute to Jonathan Van-Tam's contribution after he announced his resignation

Announcing the visit to a vaccination centre was being ditched today, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister will no longer be visiting Lancashire today due to a family member testing positive for coronavirus.

'He will follow the guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others.'

No10 said the close family member of Mr Johnson tested positive for coronavirus yesterday.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the PM took a test on Wednesday and another today.

He said: 'The PM is following the guidance to do daily tests and limit contact with others, as I said (the) positive test was Wednesday so the PM will continue following this guidance up in to … including Tuesday of next week.

'For reference, the guidance is to take an LFD (lateral flow device) test every day for seven days, or until 10 days after the household member who has Covid-19 started their self-isolation period if this is earlier and, in this instance it's not, so it's seven days.'

The spokesman said 'in line with the guidance, he's reducing contacts, he'll be working from No 10, doing the daily tests, and limiting contact with others both outside No 10 and indeed inside No 10 as well'.

He said the PM would continue to hold meetings but 'for the large part that will be done virtually'.

No10 insisted Mr Sunak and the whole Cabinet still had confidence in Mr Johnson.

Asked if the premier was concerned that Mr Sunak and Ms Truss took almost 10 hours to offer their support on Twitter, the spokesman said: 'What the Prime Minister wants and expects is the Cabinet to be focused on delivering on the public's priorities.'

Asked if he believed he had the full support of his Cabinet, the spokesman said: 'Yes, and you can see they continue to deliver on the public's priorities.'

Pushed on whether Mr Johnson was concerned about letters of no confidence being sent to the Tory 1922 committee chair, the spokesman said: 'I don't think self-reflection is his priority, I think his focus is on delivering for the public.' 

Mr Sunak, seen as a potential successor to Mr Johnson, avoided yesterday's stormy PMQs by travelling more than 200 miles from London to Devon, said on Twitter late on Wednesday that Mr Johnson was 'right to apologise' over the lockdown party scandal.

More than 20 ministers including Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Communities Secretary Michael Gove were despatched to the airwaves and social media to publicly support the PM after his statement to the Commons failed to quell anger among Tory backbenchers.  

Ministers were despatched to the airwaves and social media after a rare, grovelling public apology from the PM over lockdown-busting parties failed to quell anger among senior Conservatives.

Mr Johnson told the House he thought the bring-your-own-booze party in the No 10 garden in May 2020 was a 'work event'. 

By early evening, virtually all ministers had publicly backed Mr Johnson, with the exceptions of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who are both said to be 'on manoeuvres' to succeed him.

When the two senior ministers finally did tweet on the issue last night, there was a striking difference in their level of support. 

Mr Sunak's message said only that Mr Johnson was 'right to apologise' and he called for 'patience' while Whitehall ethics chief Sue Gray conducted an inquiry into the affair. 

In contrast, Ms Truss wrote: 'The PM is delivering for Britain – from Brexit to the booster programme to economic growth. I stand behind the Prime Minister 100 per cent as he takes our country forward.'

Mr Sunak also raised eyebrows yesterday by continuing with an engagement in Devon while Mr Johnson endured a bruising session of Prime Minister's Questions. Ms Truss sat alongside Mr Johnson in the Commons.

One senior Conservative said the Chancellor had 'done himself a lot of damage' by trying to distance himself from the row while others pitched in to help. But other MPs stepped up pressure on the PM after he admitted spending 25 minutes at a boozy staff party in the No10 garden on May 20, 2020.

After Mr Ross said Mr Johnson's position was 'untenable', Mr Rees-Mogg branded him 'a lightweight' on BBC's Newsnight. Earlier in the day, he told LBC that he did not think the Scottish Tory leader was a 'big figure'.

'I don't think it's a surprise Douglas Ross takes this view. He's never been a supporter of the prime minister. He has constantly made disobliging comments about the PM,' Mr Rees-Mogg added. 

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack revealed he tried to prevent Mr Ross from calling for the premier to quit - but denied his colleague was a 'lightweight'.

Speaking to Radio Forth News, Mr Jack said: 'Over the last 48 hours, I have, in a number of conversations with Douglas, asked him to wait until Sue Gray reports.

'She's a serious figure, she's producing a report, my view is we wait until we see the report before we draw any conclusions.

'I would say that Douglas is far from a lightweight. He's a very serious politician, he's a very good adversary for Nicola Sturgeon … Douglas is a very serious and should be [a] well-respected politician.' 

Touring TV and radio studios this morning, Mr Lewis pleaded for people to wait for Sue Gray's report into into what happened.

'The Prime Minister has outlined that he doesn't believe that he has done anything outside the rules. If you look at what the investigation finds, people will be able to take their own view of that at the time,' he told Sky News.

Mr Lewis played down reports that Chancellor Rishi Sunak had been lukewarm in his support for Mr Johnson.

'I have seen Rishi working with the Prime Minister. They work absolutely hand-in-hand. I know that Rishi has got support for the Prime Minister,' he said.

'What I have seen yesterday, and I have seen consistently through this, is the Cabinet have been completely joined-up, working together.'

Mr Johnson told the Commons that he thought the event was work-related, before touring the private tearoom at Parliament and apologising to MPs for putting them through 'cr*p'. Others said that the PM conceded that he was being 'electrocuted by the anger of the public' over the scandal.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was the first out of the blocks to back her boss, saying an inquiry led by senior official Sue Gray must be allowed to go ahead.

Ms Dorries wrote on Twitter that the 'PM was right to personally apologise earlier', adding: 'People are hurt and angry at what happened and he has taken full responsibility for that. The inquiry should now be allowed to its work and establish the full facts of what happened'.

Responding to her message, Mr Gove: 'Nadine is right.'

And the former leadership hopeful also backed up the PM to the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, where he is reported to have said Mr Johnson 'gets the big calls right' and urged colleagues not to be 'flaky'.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab told ITV it was a 'daft question' when asked whether he would run again for the Tory leadership.

'I'm fully supportive of this Prime Minister and I'm sure he will continue for many years to come,' he said last night.

Ms Patel and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng expressed their support in a Whatsapp group for Tory MPs.

Mr Javid said: 'I completely understand why people feel let down. The PM did the right thing by apologising. Now we need to let the investigation complete its work. We have so much to get on with including rolling out boosters, testing and antivirals — so we can live with Covid.'

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Times Radio: 'I think the Prime Minister was very contrite today, he apologised and he took full responsibility.'

Meanwhile, Mr Rees-Mogg told the broadcaster: 'I think the Prime Minister has got things right again and again and again. But like us all, he accepts that during a two-and-a-half-year period, there will be things that with hindsight would have been done differently.'

Asked if the PM will resign if Ms Gray's report found wrongdoing, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: 'I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves here. We should take this a step at a time.'

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also backed the PM, as did International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden, Attorney General Suella Braverman and Cop26 President Alok Sharma.

However, Mr Sunak tepidly said on Twitter the PM was 'right to apologise' and that he supports Mr Johnson's 'request for patience' as Ms Gray conducts her investigation.

And other Tories broke cover to slam the premier. York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said the claim the gathering at Downing Street was work-related 'will not wash with the British public, who at the relevant time were making significant sacrifices'. Fellow Conservative William Wragg said Mr Johnson's position was 'untenable'.

Addressing the House yesterday, Mr Johnson said he understood public 'fury' and 'took responsibility', but said he had 'implicitly' believed it was a work event - even though around 100 people were invited and urged to bring drinks.

'I bitterly regret it. I wish we could have done things differently,' he said.

Covid rules in England at the time made clear that all social gatherings of more than two people were banned, and people were only meant to leave home if they had a 'reasonable excuse' such as going to work. But there was no specific restriction on drinking alcohol in workplaces.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer responded that the PM should do the 'decent thing and resign', saying the public knows he is 'lying through his teeth'.

'The party is over, Prime Minister,' he taunted.

The picture had been looking grim for Mr Johnson, with Tories up in arms following the emergence of a bombshell email from his top civil servant inviting 100 staff to the event.

Challenged on whether he would resign if she found he breached lockdown rules, Mr Johnson merely said he would respond 'appropriately'.

Tory MPs studiously dodged asking questions about 'Partygate' during the session, instead going on topics including abolishing the BBC licence fee, bus services and Roman fossils.

Adam Wagner, a barrister who specialises in interpreting Covid regulations, said the PM's statement was 'obviously lawyered' and 'very much about his personal liability.' 

Boris Johnson is driven away from the House of Commons, after attending PMQs on January 12, 2022

However, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is viewed as a potential successor as Tory leader and was notably absent on a visit to Devon earlier in the day, gave the PM tepid backing late on Wednesday

The backing for Mr Johnson from the Tory benches seemed muted - and Keir Starmer raged that he should do the 'decent thing and resign', saying the public thinks he is 'lying through his teeth'

At a stormy PMQs, Mr Johnson (left) said he wanted to 'thank' staff at the event in May 2020 but recognised that in 'hindsight' it should not have happened. But Keir Starmer, right, said he should resign 

The Prime Minister's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 staff to bring their own drinks to No10's lavish gardens on May 20, 2020 to 'make the most of the lovely weather', an email leaked to ITV News shows 

Senior ministers started rallying around Mr Johnson in what looked to be a coordinated effort to shore his position 

Some Tory MPs also called for a pause in the wake of the PM's partial apology

Veteran Tory MP Roger Gale - a regular critic of the PM - said after the PMQs exchanges that Mr Johnson was on 'very thin ice' 

One Tory aide watching the scenes in the chamber at lunchtime told MailOnline: 'This is so very very excruciating.' 

However, No10 will have been initially relieved that few of Mr Johnson's own benches laid into him afterwards. 

One of them was veteran Tory MP Roger Gale - a regular critic of the PM - who said Mr Johnson was a 'dead man walking' and on 'very thin ice indeed'. 

But the criticism ramped up again later. In a statement to The Yorkshire Post, Mr Sturdy said: 'The fact is, that at a time when people were not allowed to attend the funeral of their loved ones or comfort their dying relatives, when fines were being issued for people meeting for a coffee in the park, Downing Street should not have been holding social events of any sort.

'I share the frustration and disappointment of the many constituents who have contacted me over this, and assure them that I will make this known in holding the Prime Minister to account.'

Mr Wragg told BBC Radio 4's PM programme it was a 'tragedy' that the situation had arisen but he could not see a way for the issues to 'go away'.

'A series of unforced errors are deeply damaging to the perception of the party.

'The Prime Minister's position is untenable.'

Mr Wragg said Tory MPs were 'worn out of defending what is invariably indefensible' and Mr Johnson should 'do the right thing' so the party can move on.

'I'm afraid the inevitable conclusion is the only way to do that is with a change,' he said. 

Tory MP Neil Hudson said the PM's apology was an 'important step forward' but 'I will not defend the indefensible' and there should be 'serious consequences' if rules were broken.

The Penrith and the Border MP said: 'I was in the House of Commons Chamber today and I welcome that the PM came and admitted that he was at the May 20 2020 gathering and that he apologised for that.

'That was an important step forward.

'As I said yesterday, let's see the result of the investigation by the Civil Service and potentially the Metropolitan Police and see what the findings tell us.

'But I will not defend the indefensible and I fully share the country's outrage and upset when people up and down the land were making huge personal and sometimes tragic sacrifices to do the right thing and obey the public health rules. 

Another senior backbencher told MailOnline Mr Johnson was in a 'holding pattern' again, but added: 'The trouble is with holding patterns is that they need fuel to be sustained.'