Boris Johnson was hit by the defection of a Conservative MP to Labour just moments before he faced further calls to resign in the House of Commons.
Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, one of the so-called Red Wall MPs, sat behind Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions.
He announced the move just moments before the session got under way in a bid to cause maximum damage to Johnson.
Wakeford said the country needs a government that “upholds the highest standards of integrity and probity” but told Johnson “both you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves”.
