Senior Conservative Critic of Boris Johnson Accuses Prime Minister of ‘Blackmailing’ Dissenters

William Wragg, chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, speaks during a committee meeting in the House of Commons, London, on Jan. 20, 2022. Parliament TV/PA

Conservative MPs who want Boris Johnson to resign as prime minister are facing “intimidation” and “blackmail” from ministers, a senior Tory MP has alleged.

William Wragg, a Conservative MP who has called on Johnson to quit, said a number of his colleagues “have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister.”