Shrewsbury MP says three Currys employees told him to 'stand by Boris'

The Shrewsbury and Atcham MP recalled the exchange while speaking to Colin Murray during his show on BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday night.

Mr Kawczynski was a guest on a night the first flurry of ministers, led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, resigned from the Government.

In a lively debate, Mr Murry quoted Theo Clarke as she quit as Trade Envoy to Kenya, who pinpointed the decision to promote Chris Pincher to Deputy Chief Whip as the main reason for her resignation.

Mr Pincher was suspended by the Conservatives last week after it was alleged he groped two men. Since then the Prime Minister has been forced to apologise for his handling of the row after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct as far back as 2019.

Responding to a suggestion from the host that he was asking Ms Clarke to believe the PM's claim that he's forgotten he'd been told of the allegations, Mr Kawczynski responded by recalling a trip to the electrical store in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury.

He said: "When I was in Currys in Shrewsbury, on Saturday, buying a new vacuum cleaner, I had three employees in that building come up to me and say 'you've got to stand by Boris, you've got to back Boris'.

"I've never come across people coming up to me in an electrical store asking me to support any other Prime Minister that I've come across."

"So if three had come up to you and said don't back him and ask him to resign would you have done that based on three employees in Currys?", responded the presenter. "I mean come on. You're giving me poppycock."

Mr Kawczynski defended himself, adding: "That actually happened, that's not poppycock. I'm relaying the story"

After being asked if he was deflecting from the subject of Ms Clarke's resignation, the Shrewsbury MP replied: "I'm giving you a story that in my consistuency on Saturday when I was not performing my role as a Member of Parliament, but I happened to be in Currys in Shrewsbury buying a new vacuum cleaner, but people happened to recognise me as being the local MP, and they came up to me and they said 'please back Boris'. Now, that is the truth.

"Why were you so flabbergasted and angry about me relaying an incident that happened to me in my constituency?"

Mr Murray told him it was because he was talking about "three people who sold you a vacuum cleaner over a specific question about the reasons an MP has withdrawn her support for the Primer Minister".

"These a good hard-working people who work in my constituency, voters, rather than a journalist or a radio commentator who is obviously trying to portray a negative image about the Prime Minister," Mr Kawczynski.

After Mr Murray revealed a YouGuv poll showed 69 per cent of people believe Mr Johnson should resign, including 54 per cent of Tory voters polled, the Shropshire MP said Margaret Thatcher's polling was often worse during her first term of office.

After the first 12 resignations on Tuesday night, Mr Johnson was hit by more than a dozen MPs quitting the Government on Wednesday.

This included Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams, who resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor.

In his letter Mr Williams said he was "immensely proud" of the work done during Covid, the war in Europe and cost of living pressures.

However, he said: "After the recent vote of confidence, I had given my support to you, with one last benefit of the doubt. I believed it was right that we draw a line under previous events and focus on rebuilding trust with the public and focusing on delivering good policies.

"It has now become apparent over recent that, that this is becoming impossible.

"It is therefore with deep regret that I resign from your Government."

His resignation comes after Telford MP Lucy Allan also said she no longer supported the Prime Minister.