I have been contacted by hundreds of constituents over the Downing Street parties and the Prime Minister’s behaviour. The vast majority of these, many of them Conservative supporters in the past, were hostile to him.

I have thought throughout the process that it was best to wait for all the evidence to emerge before reaching a conclusion. Once that evidence was produced, it was necessary to strike the right balance between the genuine achievements of the Government and the failure to maintain proper standards of behaviour during the lockdowns. Today’s vote was the right time to reach that conclusion, and with great sadness I voted that I had no confidence in the Prime Minister.

The result of the vote means that the Prime Minister will continue in office, so I will continue to support the Government, and argue the case for the people of Ashford, as I have always done.