Boris Johnson continued to use the inquiry by a Downing Street civil servant to refuse to answer questions on the parties, what he knew about them and his attendance at one.

The Prime Minister also attempted to deflect from questions about the parties and his series of excuses, by pointing to the vaccine roll out and Labour’s opposition to the Government lifting restrictions before Christmas.

Johnson was dealt new blows as a Tory MP defected and an another openly called for him to "in the name of god, go."

He was repeatedly asked by MPs to resign, including by Tory MP and former cabinet minister, David Davis, who said:" You've sat there too long. For all the good you've done. In the name of god, go."

Before questions, Tory MP for Bury South, Christian Wakeford, left the Conservatives and crossed the floor to join Labour MPs.

At Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Johnson was then asked directly by Labour leader, Keir Starmer: “When did the Prime Minister first become aware that any of his staff had concerns about the May 20 party?”

Starmer said: “Every week the Prime Minister offers absurd and unbelievable responses to the Downing Street parties and every week it unravels.

“First, it was there were no parties. Next, he was sick and furious when he found out until it turned out he was at the Downing Street garden party.

Glasgow Times:

“Last week he said he didn’t realise he was at the party. This week he has a new response, nobody told him it was against the rules.

“Since the Prime Minister wrote the rules why does he think this defence is going to work for him?”

Johnson said: “Of course we must wait for the outcome of the inquiry.

“If we listened to Labour about covid restrictions, we would still be in lockdown. If we listened to Labour’s front bench in the run up to Christmas, we would’ve stayed in restrictions with huge damage to the economy.”

Starmer responded: “Not only did he write the rules but some of his staff warned him about attending.

He asked: “When did the Prime Minister first become aware that any of his staff had concerns about the May 20 party?”

Johnson replied: “We have answered… it is for the inquiry to come forward with an explanation of what happened. We simply must wait.

“My staff have taken decisions throughout the pandemic. We have the fastest vaccine roll out in Europe, as a result we have the most open economy in Europe, that is what my staff have been working on in Downing Street and I’m proud of them.”

Ian Blackford, SNP Westminster leader, called for the Prime Minister to resign and asked when will the Tory MPs show the Prime Minister the door?

Glasgow Times:

Johnson returned to the vaccine roll out and said: “When you look at the levels of trust the people have shown in government the biggest impact has been their willingness to come forward voluntarily to get vaccinated.

“It’s also a tribute to the United Kingdom.”