'Boris has my backing'

Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams has thrown his weight behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of a vote that could see him lose his job tonight.

Mr Williams has come out in defence of Mr Johnson whose job is under threat following a series of controversial lockdown breaches at No 10 that have come to light in recent weeks.

Conservative MPs will vote tonight in secret between 6-8pm on whether they still have confidence on their leader after a growing number of MPs called for him to go.

Mr Johnson has been on a PR offensive to rally his loyal supporters, one of whom is Mr Williams who said in the past hour: “Having listened to the PM at the 1922 (meeting), I will continue to back Boris Johnson and focus on growing the economy, tackling the cost of living and clearing the Covid backlogs.

“He got the big decisions right on vaccines, supporting people through the Covid crisis and tackling unemployment.”

Mr Johnson was hosted by Mr Williams in Newtown last month for the Welsh Conservatives Conference (pictured by Phil Blagg).