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Arguing that the Labour leader deserved “absolute respect”, the Health Secretary told reporters he had done a “good job” in his former role as director of public prosecutions. Asked whether the Prime Minister should apologise for his remarks, Javid told Sky News: “I think Keir Starmer when he was running the DPP (sic) did a good job and he should be respected for it. It’s a tough job and he deserves absolute respect for that.

“But the Prime Minister has also come out and he’s clarified those remarks and that’s important.”

He is the second Cabinet minister to speak out against Johnson, after the Chancellor on Thursday used a press conference in Downing Street to make clear he “wouldn’t have said it”.

Bell, a Tory MP from the 2019 intake, went public with his reasons for calling on Mr Johnson to resign in a tweet confirming he has submitted a letter of no confidence.

“The breach of trust that the events in No 10 Downing Street represent, and the manner in which they have been handled, makes his position untenable,” Bell wrote.

In another apparent swipe at Johnson, his main rival Sunak used an article in The Sun to argue that the Conservative Party had always been “the party of sound money” and would “always continue to be on my watch”.

“I’m not afraid to make the tough but right decisions to ensure I - and future chancellors after me - can respond in emergency situations and in the best interests of the country,” he added.

It came as Tory rebels last night urged Cabinet ministers to “walk towards problems” in order to depose Johnson, as they said the party needs senior Tories to “act as leaders”.

They described the resignation of four senior aides on Thursday as a “complete shambles” and predicted it would lead to more letters of no confidence being sent to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the committee that runs the election of Conservative Party leaders. Andrew Bridgen, the Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, added: “It’s now down to the Cabinet. Leaders walk towards problems and solve them and confront them. They don’t run away from them.”

However, an MP who is allied with Sunak and Javid played down the significance of their public interventions, saying: “It is just common sense - no one sensible can defend it.” A second asked: “What else can they say for their own credibility?”

The London Telegraph understands that Javid’s comments angered a number of senior figures in Number 10, who were already smarting from Sunak’s comments the day before.

However, one insider said the Health Secretary’s team had quickly sought to play down his comments after his interview, adding: “He went further than he intended to.”

In contrast, they said that Sunak’s comments at Thursday’s press conference were “obviously planned”.

“Given what had happened he knew it was going to be asked and he had an answer pre-prepared. I think it’s something that’s p----- them [Number 10] off rather than being an existential problem.”

Last night it was reported that police have a photograph of the Prime Minister holding a beer at his birthday party during lockdown in June 2020.

Sources told the Mirror that the image showed the Prime Minister standing next to Sunak, who is holding a soft drink, in Number 10’s cabinet room.

Telegraph London