More than 390,000 people think Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak should resign because they broke the law.

The prime minister made history on Tuesday as he became the first ever leader of the country to break the law, with his chancellor following suit.

Both were instantly asked to resign by some of their own party members, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, celebrities and most importantly the British public.

And as of midday on Thursday – less than two full days after the news first broke about the politicians’ fines – 390,163 people had signed a petition for the men to resign.

The petition was started by NHS nurse Matthew Tovey, who wrote a distressing account of what he and his colleagues were going through at the time of Downing Street’s illegal gatherings.

Matthew said: ‘While members of this Government were partying and drinking, we were at the coalface, saving people’s lives. 

‘It was a horrible time. We weren’t thinking about partying. We were just missing our families.

‘It was so stressful and there was nothing we could do to make things better.’

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Many people who signed the petition also shared their stories about what they had sacrificed to follow the rules set by Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak themselves.

Janet Sosnowski, from the town of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland, said: ‘While they partied, my sister spent the last three weeks of her life in hospital with no visitors and in July 2020 we had a small graveside funeral.

‘I cannot say how disgusted and angry I am.’

Similarly, Joy Edwards, from the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire, said: ‘We weren’t allowed to be with my husband when he was fighting Covid or when he lost his battle.

‘And then we had to mourn alone and only have 11 people at his funeral. This is horrendous hypocrisy and breaking of their own rules.’

However, Matthew’s petition would likely be banned from Parliament anyway, as the Government does not allow ‘petitions calling for someone to resign and petitions asking for a vote of no confidence in an individual minister or the Government as a whole’.

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Nevertheless, the appeal makes clear what many Brits think of the saga – although some have come to the Government’s defence.

A snap poll for YouGov yesterday found 57% of voters thought Mr Johnson should quit, while 75% believe he knowingly lied when he repeatedly said he had broken no rules.

Separately, a survey by Savanta ComRes showed 61% said he should quit.

More than half the public (57%) also said they thought the chancellor should resign after he was also fined for breaking lockdown rules.

Both Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak have paid their fixed penalty notices and apologised for breaking the rules.

Mr Johnson has stuck to his defence of ignorance, saying he was ‘ambushed with a cake’ after a meeting and had no idea he was breaking the rules he wrote.

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