A DORSET MP said he is "worried and depressed" about the impact of 'partygate' - and hasn't ruled out putting a letter of no confidence in.

MP for North Dorset, Simon Hoare said: "What is going on at the moment is clearly a big political event which is causing real upset and anger amongst the electorate.

"My inbox is full, I think I must have had about 1,400 emails, it’s the most emails I've had on any issue in the seven years I've been an MP."

Mr Hoare is 'very worried' about the events taking place in Parliament and says 'it doesn't look as if it is going away.'

He said: "I think it’s more than concerning that without almost a blink of an eye we have No 10 being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

"I am very concerned about what it’s doing to the status of parliament, to the doing of politics and the status of government and not just at home but abroad as well.

"These are very serious things and I think there's a hell of a lot of damage that is going on and I’m very depressed and very worried about it all."

Speaking about whether he is considering handing in a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, he said: “It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s something that I haven't ruled out.

“I’ve had a number of constituents who begin their emails by saying 'Dear Simon, I'd be very interested to hear your defence of this', the first thing I go back and say is 'I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong member of parliament because I can't defend and I won't defend the indefensible.”

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Mr Hoare referenced two issues being raised by his constituents.

He said: “The first is the very clear and obvious breach of Covid regulations when everyone was going through huge privations and making enormous personal and family sacrifices.

"They were meeting the rules in full not just in the spirit of them but to the letter because they were convinced that that was the right thing to do to protect them, their families, their loved ones and their communities.

“So I think that has rightfully infuriated people and it’s confirmed in the minds of many, what they've long suspected, that among some politicians there is a do as I say not as I do attitude, the rules apply to you but do not apply to me."

He said a number of his traditionally Conservative constituents were also unhappy with events that took place on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

“The thing which I think has really turned the thinking of a lot of Conservative supporters was the party on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

“My take on it, which I have shared with a number of constituents, is: forget for a moment the rules and the regulations that forbade such a gathering, in any event, what sort of tasteless lacking in common sense idiot thinks it's a good idea, when the flag of our country is at half mast over the roof of Downing Street, as it was across all of Westminster and Whitehall on the eve of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, to have a big party of the nature that it was."

"Even if you put all of the requirements and the regulations aside, whoever thought that that would be a good idea."

Mr Hoare has seen many of his constituents unified against the issues in parliament regardless of their political leaning.

He said: “A number of people have said to me 'do you know what Simon, irrespective of which party is in control, in government you expect and you hope that it's all the best brains and the most sensible people who are in that machine running it - what the hell is going on?' And I don't have an answer to that question.

"If anybody tries to fob you off by saying these are the usual people who hate the government or hate the prime minister or hate the Tory party or who are irreconcilable remainers or anything of that nature, I can only speak for my inbox, as it's only my inbox that I get to see but these comments are coming from across the range of age groups, across the range of political afflictions, across the range of all sorts of issues.

"This is the most unifying issue that I think I've come across in recent years."