Sir Roger “reneged” on his vocal opposition to Mr Johnson continuing as PM following the handing out of 30 additional Government fines on Tuesday. Despite submitting a letter of no confidence at the end of last year, accusing Mr Johnson of lacking the “qualities that we need” in a PM, he has now said that the situation in Ukraine makes a motion of no confidence in Johnson “a luxury that we simply cannot afford”.
Asked by TimesRadio host Ayesha Hazarika whether Johnson should resign from office in light of the fines, Sir Roger looked disappointed but resolute.
He said: “Under other circumstances, I would be saying that he has broken the law that he set and he has misled the House of Commons, and therefore, yes, he should resign.
“But we don’t live in normal circumstances at the moment. I appreciate that this is wildly unpopular and I know that I’ve said things that people feel I’ve reneged on.
“But we are in the middle of an international crisis, and we must bear in mind that the United Kingdom, in company with the United States, is leading the coalition in support of Ukraine against Putin.”
Sir Roger added that if letters of no confidence were submitted now and the PM was ousted, “I think history would not forgive us. It’s a luxury that we simply cannot afford.”
He is among a number of Conservative politicians who have stressed that Mr Johnson must remain in office despite being the first PM to be found guilty of breaking the law while in office.
The Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, the former Brexit secretary David Davis and former ally of the PM Andrew Brigden have all suggested that ousting Mr Jonhson would be a mistake at current.
Mr Ross withdrew his letter of no confidence and said that “anything that would destabilise the UK Government at this time would be a bonus to Vladimir Putin”.
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Calls for Mr Johnson’s resignation have been further complicated by the position Chancellor Rishi Sunak now finds himself in after a turbulent few weeks.
Last year, Mr Sunak enjoyed significant popularity among the public, but the cost of living crisis, his wife’s tax scandal and now his fine have undermined such support.
In a recent YouGov poll, more than half of the respondents believed the PM should resign, but a higher percentage believed that Mr Sunak should leave office.
The Chancellor was seen as a potential successor to Mr Johnson, but that now seems untenable, leaving the Tory party with fewer options.