Putin wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine if Tory 1922 committee was ‘on his case’, claims Boris Johnson

PM makes bizarre claim that equivalent body of Russian MPs could have stopped war

Boris Johnson has suggested that Vladimir Putin would have not invaded Ukraine earlier this year if he had the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers “on his case”.

Speaking at the G7 summit, the prime minister boasted to CNN that he had “a new mandate for my party” after squeaking through the recent confidence vote arranged by the powerful Tory committee.

“I’m very happy ... I got a higher percentage of the parliamentary votes than I did the first time. So, I’m very happy, we will move forward,” he said on the challenge by Tory rebels.