Boris Johnson loses ‘distressed and disappointed’ ally Oliver Dowden from cabinet

‘We cannot carry on with business as usual’, senior MP says in pointed letter to Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson was dealt a second body blow within hours of his crushing by-election defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, as close ally Oliver Dowden quit as Conservative chairman.

In a letter released early on Friday, Mr Dowden appeared to point to the Partygate scandal as a key factor in the double setback, saying that he shared the feelings of Tory supporters who were “distressed and disappointed by recent events”.

In a message calling for at the least a change in direction, if not a change of leadership, for the Conservative government, Mr Dowden said: “We cannot carry on with business as usual.”