Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has said now is not the right time to replace Boris Johnson.

The MP for The Cotswolds said electing a new Prime Minister would cause 'instability' amid the war in Ukraine and cost of living crisis.

"I completely understand why my constituents who rigorously upheld the Covid-19 rules during the lockdown and particularly those who lost close family and friends are angry and disappointed that the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, and people working within No.10 have been fined for breaking the rules", he said.

"The question that MPs have to wrestle with is whether replacing the Prime Minister in the middle of a bloody war in Ukraine and the biggest cost of living squeeze in a generation will actually help to resolve these momentous issues.

"The process of electing a new Prime Minister will take at least two months, with all the instability that it will cause and I think it is therefore right to wait until the entire investigation is concluded before making a judgement.

"Personally, I share the disappointment many of my constituents feel and I will be carefully listening to them in the days to come."

Sir Geoffrey has previously criticised the Prime Minister's handling of the situation and in an interview with BBC Radio Gloucestershire earlier this year said: "If he's not able to clear his name eventually I suppose he will have to resign."

But the Cotswold MP has not pressed for a resignation, despite calls to do so from Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for the Cotswolds.

In a letter to Sir Geoffrey he said: "I wrote to you back in January calling on you to do the right thing and demand that Boris Johnson resign and that you refer him at that time to the Metropolitan Police so that they could investigate the evidence appearing to show a serious breach of the Covid laws Mr Johnson himself created.

"You replied last week saying that you would ‘monitor the situation carefully’. We now know that the police have found that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor broke the law and are being fined.

"No sitting Prime Minister in our country’s history has broken the law – until now. It is time to do what is only right – a leader cannot lead if he is shown to break the laws he himself creates. I am asking you as a member of the 1922 Committee to insist that both Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak resign immediately.

"We are a proud democracy. Our country deserves better and new leadership is required."