ANOTHER Tory MP has called on the Prime Minister to resign during a fiery session in Parliament after he was fined for breaking Covid laws.

Mark Harper, a former Conservative Party chief whip, has become the latest to call for Boris Johnson step down.

He said Johnson was “no longer worthy” to lead the government.

Harper has been a prominent critic of Johnson and served in Theresa May’s government but has stopped short of calling for his resignation.

The Prime Minister addressed the Commons on Tuesday to again apologise after he was caught breaking Covid rules at a birthday party thrown for him in Downing Street in 2020

The National:

Harper (below), the MP for Forest of Dean, said: “I strongly support the Government’s actions in standing up to Putin’s aggression and helping Ukraine defend itself and our values and its exactly at times like this that our country exemplifies those values.

“I regret to say that we have a Prime Minister who broke the laws that he told the country they had to follow, hasn’t been straightforward about it and he’s now going to ask the men and women on these benches to defend what I think is indefensible.

“I’m very sorry to say this but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office that he holds.”

He has sent a letter to Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee which regulates when the Tory party can hold a no-confidence vote in its leader. 

In his letter, he accused Johnson of breaking the ministerial code and of being "no longer able to deliver the principled leadership required to take our country forward". 

At least 17 Tory MPs have publically called for the Prime Minister to go and at the last count there were around 20 letters sent by Tory MPs to the 1922 Committee. A total of 54 need to be received to trigger a no-confidence vote. 

Some of these - most prominently Douglas Ross - have withdrawn their calls in light of the war in Ukraine. 

The number of letters is also likely to be lower now after the Scottish Tory leader announced he had withdrawn his letter calling on the PM to resign.

Johnson told MPs: "As soon as I received the [fine], I acknowledged the hurt and anger and I said that people had a right to expect better of their Prime Minister – and I repeat that, Mr Speaker, again in the House now.

“Let me also say, not by way of mitigation or excuse but purely because it explains my previous words in this House, that it did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the Cabinet Room just before a vital meeting on Covid strategy could amount to a breach of the rules.

“I repeat that was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly.

“I respect the outcome of the police investigation, which is still under way, and I can only say that I will respect their decision-making and always take the appropriate steps.”