PUDSEY MP Stuart Andrew is being urged to call for Boris Johnson's resignation amid anger over the "bring your own booze" Downing Street party.

Horsforth town councillor Simon Dowling has written to Mr Andrew after the Prime Minister's statement in Parliament about the garden party which was held in May 2020. Mr Johnson apologised but told MPs he had believed the party was a work event.

In his letter Cllr Dowling says: "Following PMQs earlier today, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an empty and evasive apology for hosting a party at the height of lockdown, I am now urging

you to join in the calls on the Prime Minister to resign.

"There have been many recent allegations made about Government representatives and officials breaking the rules during the pandemic, but none so clear cut as the occasion on 20th May 2020.

"We have seen the invite to a hundred people, at a time we were told we could only meet one person outside. We know it happened on the Prime Minister’s premises,that his own private secretary organised it, and that he attended it. We do not need an independent investigation to tell us if the Prime Minister knew it was a party.

"At this moment in the pandemic, the nation remained frightened of the virus.The death toll was climbing. Pubs and many shops were closed. The rule of six wasn’t even introduced for another month. "But it gets worse than that. Local residents were deprived of precious final moments with family and loved ones and were forced to attend funerals via Zoom.

"How, especially at this moment in the pandemic, the Prime Minister thought it appropriate for a bring your own booze bash in his back garden is totally beyond every reasonable person I know.

"The fact he went on to deceive the public and Parliament about it, only makes it worse.

"If this was a one-off mistake, perhaps there would be more public sympathy. But I’m afraid this is only the latest incident in a long line of evidence that this Prime Minister and his Government believes that there are rules for them and rules for us - and he will lie, obfuscate and gaslight the nation if anyone accuses him of doing wrong.

Cllr Dowling says he recognises that Mr Andrew will owe some loyalty to the Prime Minister but he stresses: ""However, as Horsforth and Rawdon’s representative in Westminster, it is incumbent on you to take a stand on what is morally right.

"It is quite clearly time for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign. I urge you to demonstrate that you will stand up for the people you represent, who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic, and join me in this resignation call."