Science Secretary George Freeman said he no longer had faith in Boris Johnson and said “enough is enough”.
In a letter, he said: “It is with deep regret that I write to you to inform you that I no longer have confidence in your leadership of our country, our government or our party, and I am writing to Sir Graham Brady formally to register support for a change of leadership of the conservative party.
“I do this with a heavy heart. Our country is facing a series of crises and needs strong leadership, and needs ministers focused on delivering a strong and effective government to deliver the priorities for which we have only 30 months achieved a huge majority.
“I have supported you then and since for your commitment to making Brexit an inspiring moment of national renewal – of our economy, parliamentary sovereignty and our place in the world – in the One Nation Conservative tradition you stood on.”
The letter, which he signed as Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, continued: “But I am afraid that the culmination of your lack of transparency and candor towards Parliament (and your willingness to ask your ministers to mislead), your removal from the key pillars of the ministerial code, your treatment of your appointment of a deputy head whip that you knew had a history of sexual abuse allegations is too much. This damages public confidence and the respect for government, democracy and law, and the long tradition of this great party as the party of norms, character, conduct, integrity and duty to office and country before partisan self-interest.
“Your leadership, the chaos in No. 10, the collapse of the cabinet’s collective responsibility and the collapse of public trust in the government represent a constitutional crisis. It is now also undermining our authority in key negotiations on the world stage in a time of urgent international crises.”
Freeman has reportedly canceled a planned visit to Liverpool on Thursday in connection with an announcement about funding for flu pandemic research.