Hertsmere’s MP says that he is “fully behind” Boris Johnson after he was fined for breaching Covid restrictions at a Downing Street party.

Both the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have paid fines and apologised for attending Mr Johnson’s birthday bash during restrictions.

Mr Johnson said it “did not occur” to him that the gathering in the Cabinet Room on June 19 2020 to mark his 56th birthday was a violation of coronavirus rules, but that he “now humbly accepts” he did breach Covid-19 laws.

Earlier that day he attended a Hertfordshire school.

There have been calls for the Prime Minister to resign following the fine - including from local Labour and Lib Dems members in Hertsmere.

But Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden, who is also chairman of the Conservative party at a national level, says that he stands by Mr Johnson.

He tweeted: “The Prime Minister has provided a full explanation and apology for what happened in Downing Street.

“At a time when we face an energy crisis and conflict in Ukraine, I’m fully behind him in getting on with the job.”

The Hertsmere Labour group has called for Mr Johnson to step down, along with Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

The party posted on its Facebook page: "Johnson & Rishi have both been fined for breaching lockdown laws.

"It is clear, the two most senior politicians in our country, ultimately responsible for maintaining law and order do not believe the law applies to them.

"They have been found to have broken the laws we were all adhering to. Their positions are untenable, they must both now resign."

The Hertsmere Liberal Democrat party shared a post from the national Lib Dem party in which its leader Sir Ed Davey called for Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to "resign immediately".