UK's Johnson defies calls to quit as ouster bid gathers pace

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defied calls to resign in a feisty performance in Parliament

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to resign in a feisty performance Wednesday in Parliament — but it may be too little to prevent his Conservative Party's lawmakers from trying to oust him over a string of lockdown-flouting government parties.

Pressure on the prime minister grew as one Conservative lawmaker defected to the opposition Labour Party and a former member of Johnson's Cabinet told him: “In the name of God, go!”

The demand from ex-Brexit minister David Davis came during a combative Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, where Johnson defended his government's record running the economy, fighting crime and combating the coronavirus pandemic. He also tried to brush aside questions about the “partygate” scandal that threatens his career.

“We delivered while they dithered,” he said of opposition politicians, several of whom told Johnson he was regarded by Britons as a charlatan, a hypocrite, a liar and “stupid.”