Tories to face three by-elections as Labour claims Rishi Sunak ‘has lost control of his party’

Rishi Sunak has “lost control of the party” after a third MP in 24 hours announced their resignation from the party, Labour has claimed.

Boris Johnson resigned on Friday ahead of the release of a report into whether he misled MPs over gatherings held in Downing Street during lockdown.

Key allies, Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, soon joined the former Prime Minister in stepping down sparking Labour to accuse Mr Sunak of losing control of the party.

Speaking to Sky News’ Jon Craig in Uxbridge, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, Shabana Mahmood said: “I think it’s clear that Rishi Sunak has lost control of his party.”

She then went on to add: “He is simply too weak to unite the divided Tories who are more interested in tearing lumps out of each other, causing their own PM by-election difficulties, the cost of a by-election, rather than focussing on the issues that actually matter to the voters.”

Both Ms Dorries and Mr Adams held majorities of 24,664 in mid-Bedforshire and 20,137 in Selby and Ainsty respectively.

Mr Johnson’s former Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat has a majority of 7,210, causing Ms Mahmood to claim Labour will target the constituency in the next election.

“We’re fighting for every vote. What we’re doing is taking our case as a Labour Party to voters,” she added. “The country needs change. The Tories are in absolute disarray, and the Labour Party can be the change that the country needs."

“The issue is on the Tories. This party is falling apart.”

Mr Sunak is yet to comment on the resignations of the now former MPs.

The Privileges Committee said it will meet to conclude its report on Monday and said it publish its findings “promptly”.

Although the outcome of the report remains unclear, Veteran Tory MP David Davis, who served in Theresa May’s cabinet alongside Mr Johnson, said "most MPs" thought the former No 10 incumbent had lied.

The former Brexit Secretary told GB News: “The truth of the matter is, ask around Parliament, ask most of the MPs, most people are fairly sure he misled the House.

“And he did so many times and he did so knowing that these parties had occurred and he had been at some of them.

“It is hard to be at a party and not notice it is a party.”