The British Conservative Party faces a third by-election test after a close ally of Boris Johnson resigned from the Commons with "immediate effect".
In a tumultuous 24 hours for the Conservative Party, Nigel Adams announced that he was following the former prime minister and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries' lead in quitting Westminster.
Mr Johnson's departure from parliament over Covid lockdown-breaking parties has sparked fevered speculation over his and the current government's future, with allies and enemies trading jibes.
The 58-year-old announced he was leaving as a member of parliament on yesterday, claiming he had been forced out in a stitch-up by his political opponents.
Mr Johnson has been under investigation by a cross-party committee about whether he deliberately lied to parliament over parties when he was in office.
In evidence earlier this year, he insisted he had not.
However as the committee prepares to make public its findings, he said they had contacted him "making it clear... they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament".
The Privileges Committee, which has a majority of MPs from his own Conservative party, has powers to impose sanctions for misleading parliament, including suspension.
Ordinarily, suspension of more than ten working days leads to a by-election in the MP's constituency.
By quitting, Mr Johnson avoids the consequences of a humiliating fight to remain an MP in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in northwest London where he holds a slim majority of just over 7,000.
He denounced the committee, chaired by veteran opposition Labour MP Harriet Harman, as a "kangaroo court".
"It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now - but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically... with such egregious bias," he said.
He claimed the committee's report, which has not been published, was "riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice", adding he had "no formal ability to challenge anything they say".
Their "purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts", he said.
Responding to the resignation, the Privileges Committee said Mr Johnson "impugned the integrity of the House by his statement".
Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams have also quit, meaning current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whom Mr Johnson partly blames for his downfall, faces three by-elections as his party languishes in the polls.
Mr Johnson's ability to generate strong feelings of admiration or hate was reflected in the reaction to his shock announcement.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the public - battling a cost-of-living crisis - had had enough of the "never-ending Tory soap opera" while her opposite number with the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, said it was "good riddance".
However Mr Johnson's supporters rallied behind him, lauding his achievements in pushing through Brexit and galvanising support for Ukraine.
There was, however, widespread agreement that Mr Johnson will remain a looming presence and a problem for Mr Sunak.
Mr Johnson led the Tories to a thumping 80-seat majority in the December 2019 general election on a promise to "get Brexit done".
That allowed him to railroad through parliament his divorce deal with the European Union, unblocking years of political paralysis.
But he was undone by his handling of the Covid pandemic, "Partygate" and a succession of other scandals that led to a ministerial rebellion in July last year.
He quit as prime minister and left office in September last year, though rumours persisted that he wanted another shot at the top job.
Mr Sunak, who was one of Mr Johnson's top team who quit, has been trying to steady the ship since becoming prime minister in October, after the turbulent tenure of his former boss and the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss.
Mr Johnson's resignation will likely be seen as his revenge on Mr Sunak, whose Tories are well down in the polls with a general election looming next year.
"When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened," Mr Johnson said in his letter, lashing out at Mr Sunak.
Mr Johnson became an MP in 2001 until 2008, then quit to serve two four-year terms as London's mayor. He became an MP again in 2015, going on to be foreign secretary under Theresa May.
