SOUTHEND West’s MP has withdrawn her support for Boris Johnson with the beleaguered PM beset by resignations and calls for him to step down.

The Prime Minister has so far defied calls to resign despite a wave of ministerial resignations and signs that support on the Tory backbenches is ebbing away.

Today, Southend West MP Anna Firth joined a long list of Tory MPs to withdraw their support for Mr Johnson.

Ms Firth said: “Following the revelations of recent days, reluctantly and with great sadness, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer support Boris Johnson remaining as Prime Minister.

“Following the publication of the Sue Gray report, and the Prime Minister’s repeated assurances that there would be a ‘reset’ in the approach of the Government, I had hoped to see a fundamental change in leadership style.

“Sadly, recent events have shown that this is has not happened. I have therefore written to the Chair of the 1922 Committee to formally withdraw my support from the Prime Minister.”

Ms Firth, who took the Southend West seat in the byelection following the murder of Sir David Amess, had previosuly been a staunch ally of the PM.

The Southend West MP did not publicly reveal how she voted last month in the vote of confidence.

Today, at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said the “colossal mandate” he had been handed by voters in 2019 means he should keep going despite the “difficult circumstances” he faces.

His appearance in the Commons came as six more Government ministers and two ministerial aides quit on Wednesday, following the exit of senior figures including Rishi Sunak and Mr Javid the night before.

Tory Tim Loughton asked Mr Johnson in the Commons if there are “any circumstances” in which he should resign.

The Prime Minister replied: “Clearly if there were circumstances in which I felt it was impossible for the Government to go on and discharge the mandate that we have been given or if I felt, for instance, that we were being frustrated in our desire to support the Ukrainian people… then I would.

“But frankly the job of a Prime Minister in difficult circumstances when he has been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that’s what I’m going to do.”