A REBEL York Tory MP says Boris Johnson should consider his position, after the Prime Minister won the backing of a majority of Tory MPs in a confidence vote but saw 148 vote against him.

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said the scale of the vote against the Prime Minister on Monday evening was 'clear evidence' that he no longer enjoyed the 'full-hearted' confidence of the parliamentary party.

"As someone who supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership election and wants to deliver the manifesto promises made at the last general election, it is regrettable that I had to vote against the Prime Minister but, as I have made clear in previous statements, I no longer have confidence in his ability to lead us through the challenges we face as a nation," he said.

"With a global cost of living crisis impacting family budgets and war returning to Europe, the public should not have to doubt the honesty or integrity of our Prime Minister and our Government's focus should not be questioned."

He said he felt it was important to be honest about his considered view that the interests of York and the country would be best served by a new Prime Minister.

However, Thirsk & Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake tweeted that he voted with the Prime Minister,adding: "I don’t feel that his breaches of the rules are sufficiently serious to warrant the resignation of the leader of this nation, not least one who led us to decisive victories for the leadership, in the general election and Hartlepool (12 months ago) and delivered on Brexit.

"We need to let him get on with the job of tackling the cost of living and supporting Ukraine in their battle against Putin."

Selby & Ainsty Tory MP Nigel Adams also said he had backed Mr Johnson, as he was the 'right person for the job.'

He tweeted: "The British public will not forgive a divisive, lengthy and distracting contest when we should be focussing on delivering on the issues that matter to them.

He claimed Mr Johnson had won another 'clear mandate' as Leader of the Conservative Party, adding: "Now we can fully focus on delivering on the people’s priorities and put leadership speculation and distractions behind us for good."

York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell, writing in a column for The Press, said Mr Johnson was now 'mortally wounded, with 148 of his own troops turning on him.'

She claimed: "They recognised that if he was not taken down, they all would fall at the next election, when you finally have your say."

She added: "The Prime Minister may want to forget the lying and the cheating, but we must not."