the call comes from senior conservative mp and former minister, tobias ellwood. a number of tory backbenchers say they've been inundated with messages from angry constituents, about the growing list of parties, dating back to the spring of 2020. labour says it's now in the national interest for mrjohnson to be removed from office. our political correspondent, iain watson, reports. borisjohnson has come under renewed pressure following number 10's apology to buckingham palace over a leaving do held last year on the eve of the duke of edinburgh's funeral. so today the labour leader urged conservative mps to force him out. of course there's a party advantage in him going, but actually it's now in the national interest that he goes, so it's very important that the tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him. usually when opposition mps call for a prime minister to go, the troops rally round, but today the conservative chairman of the commons defence committee, tobias ellwood, did not exactly defend his boss when he told the bbc borisjohnson should lead, o

tobias ellwood made the comments to the bbc as pressure continues regarding parties at downing streethile tough coronavirus restrictions were in place in the uk. meanwhile, the labour leader, sir keir starmer, said it was now in the "national interest" for the prime minister to resign. the moral authority matters in relation to enforcing the covid rules but we've got other massive challenges facing this country. massive challenges. we have a prime minister who is absent, he is literally in hiding at the moment, and unable to lead. and so that is why i have concluded that he has got to go. and of course there's a party advantage in him going, but actually it is now in the national interest that he goes. so it is very important now that the tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him. claire pearsall is a conservative councillor in the county of kent, who was formerly a home office special adviser. she spoke earlier to my colleague joanna gosling, who started by asking whether she'd had a chance to speak to local residents in her area. i've had a number of conversations this

tobias ellwood, who chairs the commons defence committee, says he thinks an invasion could now be "imminentat president putin is "taking full advantage of a weakened west". russia has denied it's planning an invasion. but the us has delivered 90 tonnes of what it calls �*lethal aid' to ukraine — the first shipment since a fresh promise of assistance from president biden. in a few mins, reeta chakrabarti will be here with a round up of the day's top stories — including the latest from our correspondent in kyiv. but earlier i spoke to the economist's �*russia and eastern europe editor�* — arkady ostrovsky. i began by asking him whether he agreed that an invasion was imminent. well, to be honest with you, i must say i do not think anybody really knows what vladimir putin is going to do when he is going to do it. there is a lot of military, a lot of armour, there is a lot of parading of russian diplomats, there is a lot of diplomacy and ultimatums, those ultimatums being rejected understandably. there�*s a lot of activity, but ultimately vladimir putin holds all the cards and he holds an extrem

tobias ellwood, i think is the seventh tory mp to effectively say he is not happy and is not having itry of initiatives and sucking number ten staff for short, it will not be enough, says tobias ellwood, a very respected tory mp, to repair trust in parliament and the nation. to repair trust in parliament and the nation-— the nation. and the i says the number of _ the nation. and the i says the number of no-confidence - the nation. and the i says the i number of no-confidence letters the nation. and the i says the - number of no-confidence letters sent number of no—confidence letters sent to the i922 number of no—confidence letters sent to the 1922 committee is over 20 and expected to rise, there is a number of varying accounts on how many letters have been sent in. the big question, lots of angry e—mails from constituents, mps have made that clear, but will any of this piano from boris johnson's clear, but will any of this piano from borisjohnson�*s perspective to save him? i’m from boris johnson's perspective to save him? �* ., , save him? i'm not interested in savin: save him? i'm no

but nevertheless, tobias ellwood is quoted — nevertheless, tobias ellwood is quoted as saying that thisgoing back to _ parliament and the nation. going back to the telegraph, they have another— back to the telegraph, they have another tory mp, robert signs, who is considering joining the rebellion calling _ is considering joining the rebellion calling for— is considering joining the rebellion calling forjohnson's head in writing _ calling forjohnson's head in writing. that telegraph story is the best, _ writing. that telegraph story is the best. most— writing. that telegraph story is the best, most interesting story of the day because it points to mp5 having "lies, _ day because it points to mp5 having "lies. lies, — day because it points to mp5 having "lies, lies, lies" dropped on the constituency office, a number of mps said they— constituency office, a number of mps said they will send in a letter as soon _ said they will send in a letter as soon as— said they will send in a letter as soon as sue grey's report lands. it doesn't _ soon as sue grey's report lands. it doesn't appear to

tobias ellwood, who chairs the commons defence committee, says he thinks an invasion could now be "imminent" and that president putin is "taking full advantage of a weakened west". russia has denied it's planning an invasion. but the us has delivered 90 tonnes of what it calls �*lethal aid' to ukraine, the first shipment since a fresh promise of assistance from president biden. james waterhouse reports now from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. the friendship of nations arch, built by the soviets to celebrate the closeness between russians and ukrainians. that crack was painted on by activists in a few on by activists a few years ago as relations between the two countries deteriorated. and as talks intensify about a possible invasion, the hope is things don't break down completely. tensions are still rising on the border. today russian jets made their way to joint military drills with neighbouring belarus. ukrainian ministers have welcomed the delivery of us military equipment, and now a call for the uk to step up its own support. the british government has delivered 2000 anti—tank missiles this

one of his senior mps and former minister, tobias ellwood, says borisjohnson must 'lead or step asideeing indundated with messages from the public expressing their anger over the growing list of parties. our political correspondent, iain watson has the latest. borisjohnson has come under renewed pressure following number ten's apology to buckingham palace over a leaving do held last year on the eve of the duke of edinburgh's funeral. so today the labour leader urged conservative mps to force him out. of course there's a party advantage in him going, but actually it's now in the national interest that he goes, so it's very important now that the tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him. usually when opposition mps call for a prime minister to go, the troops rally round, but tonight the former government minister — tim loughton — tweeted... the chairman of the commons defence committee, tobias ellwood, told the bbc, borisjohnson should lead, or step aside. chanting. outside downing street, demonstrators against a forthcoming police bill were making their views of the prim

we had tobias ellwood saying he thinks a russian invasion is imminent. we could be close to one?mminent. we could be close to one?— could be close to one? i think we are very close — could be close to one? i think we are very close to _ could be close to one? i think we are very close to a _ could be close to one? i think we are very close to a decision - could be close to one? i think we are very close to a decision on i are very close to a decision on whether or not to do one. from the russian side. there is not a great deal of clarity in the situation beyond that russia has sent a huge amount of equipment and a considerable amount of men to ukraine's borders. it has been at war with the ukraine since 2014 and it feels it has got enough by way of accusations against the west to get away with it. i think those accusations are quite easily shown as being falsified, for example, the expansion of nato has been entirely because so many countries have been afraid of what russia is intending or does that they have wanted to join nato. so i thank that is false accusation. join nato. so

so as well as tobias ellwood speaking out in public, many others are worried in private.old me that the story about the party the night before the duke of edinburgh's funeral had made things worse, that the reception they were getting was terrible. anotherformer the reception they were getting was terrible. another former ally of mr johnson and a brexit supporter said they now could not see a situation where mrjohnson led them into the next general election. that is not a view that everybody in the party shares. we should point that out. one ally of the prime minister said this morning that they think the public is willing to wait and see what comes out of the investigation thatis what comes out of the investigation that is being carried out by a senior civil servant. number 10 is keeping quiet until that report comes back. the labour leader sir keir starmer is urging tory mps to act this morning, saying getting rid of their leader would be in the national interest.— tsunami waves a metre high have hit the pacific island nation of tonga, after an underwater volcano erupte

, the chair of them is tobias ellwood, the chair of them is tobias ellwood, the chair of the defence eading towards the weekend, which is _ inviting me. we are heading towards the weekend, which is normally - inviting me. we are heading towards the weekend, which is normally the l the weekend, which is normally the time mps get to see their constituency most. have you already started picking up concerns for members of the public about all this? , ., ,., , members of the public about all this? , ., , ., this? yes, the e-mail inboxes have been deluged _ this? yes, the e-mail inboxes have been deluged with _ this? yes, the e-mail inboxes have been deluged with concerns - this? yes, the e-mail inboxes have been deluged with concerns about. been deluged with concerns about what has happened, and i think yesterday in parliament was a seismic moment. it was one where you are going to remember where you were. i cannot recall the atmosphere or tone in prime minister's question is, in my experience. i very much welcomed the prime minister's apology in recognition of the stupidity of what has be

tobias ellwood is a former army officer. >> the royal family has an intimate relationshi with the regimentsng back in history. many of them honorary colonels and so forth. it is important the problems prince andrew has incurred have bled over the regiments he was representing. >> from sources close to andrew, we were told he would fight on. the duke would continue to defend himself against these claims. the claims began more than 10 years ago with the publication of this photograph of entry with then 17-year-old virginia roberts. in this photograph of him with pjeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he becomef involved with epstein. -- he became involved with epstein. >> that is -- i kick myself for it on a daily basis. it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family. we try and uphold th highest standards and practices. >> two years on from that interview, andrew, duke of york, second son of the queen, ninth in line to the british throne, stands alone. nicholas witchell, bbc news. >> the omicron variant continues to spread rapidly ar

the mp, tobias ellwood, is a former army officer.oyal family has an intimate relationship with the regiments, going back in history, many of them are honorary colonels and so forth and it is important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred are not bled over into the regiments that he was representing. from sources close to andrew, we were told that he would fight on. the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims, they said. the claims began more than ten years ago now, with the publication of this photograph of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he became involved with epstein. and that is the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for, on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and i let the side down. simple as that. two years on from that interview, andr

the chairman of the uk's defence select committee, tobias ellwood, criticised the plans as "rushed" and since the end of the second world war. who betrayed the family of anne frank to the nazis. anne frank died in a concentration camp in 1945, at the age of 15, after two years in hiding. her diary, published after her death, is probably the most famous first—hand account ofjewish life during the war. anna holligan reports from amsterdam. the final entry in anne frank's diary. tuesday 1st august 19114. three days later, thejewish teenager was arrested. this was the frank family's hiding place during the nazi occupation of the netherlands. and this question of who betrayed the frank family, who had lived in this building undetected for more than two years, untiljust months before the end of the war, has remained one of the great mysteries of dutch history. and now this team of investigators have identified a man who they believe is the key suspect, a jewish lawyer who had been based here in amsterdam helping jewish refugees fleeing nazi germany. no dna clues or video images existed, so th

a few conservative mps have expressed concerns about this party business this week and one is tobias ellwoodr of the defence select committee who is making his newscast deb you, hello! delighted to be here, thank you for inviting me. we are heading to the weekend which is normally the time mps get to see their constituents the most so have you started picking up concerns from members of the public about this? yes, the e—mail inboxes have been deluged with concerns about what has happened. i think yesterday in parliament was a seismic moment, one where you will remember where you were. i cannot recall an atmosphere or tone in pmqs anything like that in my experience. i welcome the prime minister's apology in recognition of the stupidity of what has been going on. he has generated genuine anger from the british people who have enjoyed so much hardship so i'm pleased to see some form of clarity and an apology but at the moment, it's not enough —— who have endured point that we need to see real change as to how the number 10 construct works, its culture, direction of travel, strategy and the per

borisjohnson must "lead or step aside", senior tory and former minister tobias ellwood has told the bbcit comes as some conservative mps say they've been inundated with emails from constituents, angry about reports that downing street staff held parties during lockdowns. the government has urged people to reserve judgment until senior civil servant sue gray's inquiry is finished. meanwhile labour leader sir keir starmer said it was now in the "national interest" for the prime minister to resign following events in downing street during strict lockdown measures. the moral authority matters in relation to enforcing the covid rules but we've got other massive challenges facing this country. massive challenges. we have a prime minister who is absent, he is literally in hiding at the moment, and unable to lead. and so that is why i have concluded that he has got to go. and of course there's a party advantage in him going, but actually it is now in the national interest that he goes. so it is very important now that the tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him. claire pearsall

the mp tobias ellwood is a former army officer.ily has an intimate relationship with the regiments, going back in history, many of them are honorary colonels and so forth and it is important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred are not bled over into the regiments that he was representing. from sources close to andrew, we were told that he would fight on. the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims, they said. the claims began more than ten years ago now, with the publication of this photograph of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he became involved with epstein. and that is the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for, on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and i let the side down. simple as that. two years on from that interview, andrew, duke

the chairman of the commons defence committee, tobias ellwood, told the bbc, borisjohnson should leadtreet, demonstrators against a forthcoming police bill were making their views of the prime minister known. far more subtly, some of his own mps have also been doing so. what may be worrying the prime minister is that some of his former supporters now want him to go. one mp, elected in 2019, told me he owed his seat to borisjohnson but now, he says, "this feels terminal, and he should go quickly." and another mp i spoke to several days ago, who told me then that he thought borisjohnson could ride out this political storm, got back in touch today to say he's now damaging the conservative brand and it was a question of when, not if, he leaves number ten. no cabinet minister, though, has broken ranks. inside downing street, there is hope that an investigation by a senior civil servant may say that the prime minister has not broken covid rules. and the expected lifting of restrictions later this month could improve his mps' mood. the conservatives snatched a seat in yorkshire from labour i

the mp tobias ellwood is a former army officer.n history — many of them are honorary colonels and so forth — and it's important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred sort of aren't bled over into the regiments that he was representing. it's more than ten years now since this photograph appeared of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts, and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he continued his friendship with epstein. that's the bit that... as it were, i kick myself for on a daily basis. cos it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family, and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices, and i let the side down — simple as that. two years on from that interview, andrew, duke of york, continues to declare his innocence of any impropriety. he must now fight on alone — his family's priority is to protect the monarchy�*s reputation. nicholas witchell, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, stil

the mp, tobias ellwood, is a former army officer.oyal family has an intimate relationship with the regiments, going back in history, many of them are honorary colonels and so forth and it is important that the problems that prince andrew has incurred are not bled over into the regiments that he was representing. from sources close to andrew, we were told that he would fight on. the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims, they said. the claims began more than ten years ago now, with the publication of this photograph of andrew with the then 17—year—old virginia roberts and this photograph of him with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. in his newsnight interview, andrew said he rued the day he became involved with epstein. and that is the bit that, as it were, i kick myself for, on a daily basis, because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the royal family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and i let the side down. simple as that. two years on from that interview, andr

we have just heard from mark harper on bbc news and tobias i harper on bbc news and tobias ellwood, another to publishing sue gray's report in full once the mets have finished their investigation, tobias ellwood thinks the prime minister will have to go. you are talking to the same people who have been asking for the prime minister to go it virtually before he was even elected as leader of the party and became prime minister, so you are talking to the same people who have been saying the same things for two years, regardless of the issue. so all i would say is the prime minister, he has published what he has a soon as he got it he was here at these dispatch box, he told us what he got, what has been published, and i imagine as he has given it more information he will publish more and come back to the dispatch box. we have spoken a couple of times to the last few weeks and you have always said it is important for the number ten a team to get out ahead of the story. do you think they managed to do that today? ida. of the story. do you think they managed to do that today? no, i didn't. ithink_

of her majesties opposition keir starmer so, and _ majesties opposition keir starmer so, and tobias ellwoodd england again. there has been some sunshine so far today in northeast scotland, though, clouding over and through the afternoon this weather frontjust moving through, taking a few outbreaks of rain across northern scotland, whereas elsewhere, despite all of the cloud, with the exception of perhaps a little drizzle, it is dry. you can see the extent of the cloud, though, it's western counties of northern ireland, perhaps northeast wales, a few spots in northeast england seeing some sunny spells breaking through, though nowhere near as bright as it was yesterday in northeast england. as it was yesterday and these temperatures, well, actually where you have the thickest low cloud and mistjust around two or three degrees celsius, that's why it's feeling so cold out there. but notice overnight tonight, some breaks around, some clear spells in scotland, northern ireland and also towards northern england. parts of wales and the midlands later in the night, as well as a breeze picks up acros

wants this report out in full to end this madness, in his words and also, the more critical mp, tobias ellwood redacted report would not go down well with the public and his colleagues, so fair to say now that we are expecting those report next week but anything other than the full report i think it's certainly going to cause some political difficulties going forward. cause some political difficulties going forward-— cause some political difficulties auoin forward. . ,, , . tens of thousands of people in three southern african countries have been cut off by flood waters following torrential rains from tropical storm ana. officials say more than 80 people across madagascar, mozambique and malawi have died. rescue workers have been struggling to reach regions where roads and bridges have washed away. concerns have been raised that major changes to the highway code that have come into force today haven't been sufficiently publicised. the new rules are designed to offer greater protection to cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians, giving them more space and priority at junctions. a third of driver

the conservative mp, tobias ellwood, said he thinks an invasion is now "imminent" and that president "taking full advantage of a weakened west". it comes as the united states has delivered its first shipment of military cargo to ukraine, for use in the event of a conflict. here's mark lobel. for use in the event of a conflict. the threat of conflict persists as president putin continues his apparent drive for a new post—cold war settlement. ukraine is proving the biggest foreign policy test for president biden since us troops left afghanistan. he's left the white house for camp david this weekend to meet his national security team and secretary of state antony blinken, who himself is returning from three days of crisis diplomacy. those ended in talks with his russian counterpart in geneva, which didn't get very far. what i think is possible is a negotiation with russia on some new security architecture from your model eras — the inf agreement of the �*80s, under which intermediate and short—range missiles were banned. if the russian issue is the risk in the future of nato missiles on

>> sir, thank you for taking the time to speak with us this morning and sharing your thoughts tobias ellwoodthe topic of ukraine, we have some fresh comments coming through from the kremlin the kremlin saying uk sanctions threat is alarming for russia and companies. it amounts to a clear attack on business it is likely a cause for concern for financial and business communities because it demonstrates that the uk is unpredictable an kremlin saying the sanctions is an issue with tension because british companies are shareholders in russian companies. putin will respond when he considers it necessary no date set. any attack would require moscow to respond such measures would be based on russia's interests if they are needed these are fresh lines coming from the kremlin in response to what we have been hearing from the uk and the u.s. over the weekend. >>> we will take a quick break coming up, the beginning of the end or opportunity not to be missed i'm talking about crypto a closer look at bitcoin next which seies half of the value wiped up since the november high as a business owner, your bott

tobias ellwood, who chairs the defence select committee, said leadership was required. downing street staff held parties during lockdowns. the government has urged people to reserve judgment until the outcome of an inquiry. it comes a day after officials apologised to buckingham palace for two parties held on the eve of prince philip�*s funeral. our political correspondent ione wells reports. "it is the expectation that more and more will come out" — the fear of one brexiteer tory mp, who previously backed borisjohnson, who is worried about the stream of allegations about parties that took place behind these doors during covid restrictions. one former minister said the prime minister was "toast." another said their email inbox was "horrendous." one senior tory said they have had more than 200 angry emails against the prime minister and said many colleagues now believe boris won�*t be leader at the next general election. "for many of us, this feels terminal." borisjohnson admitted this week that he attended drinks in the downing street garden on the 20th of may, 2020. fo

tobias ellwood, who chairs the defence select committee, said leadership was required.mes as some conservative mps say they've been inundated with emails from constituents angry about reports that downing street staff held parties during lockdowns. at a speech in london this morning, the labour leader sir keir starmer has urged tory mps to "get rid" of the prime minister "in the national interest". the moral authority matters in relation to enforcing coronavirus rules. we have massive challenges. we have a prime minister who is absent. who is literally in hiding at the moment. and unable to lead. and so that is why i have concluded that he has got to go. and of course there is a party advantage in him going, but actually it is now in the national interest that he goes. it is very important now that the tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him. 5ir party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him.— the government has repeatedly urged people to reserve judgment until the outcome of an inquiry. it comes a day after officials apologised to buckingham palace