Mr Bridgen said he and many others “will always be grateful for what Boris has achieved and his legacy should be cemented by a dignified exit from politics which would allow him to retain a place in the affection of a grateful nation”.

He concluded: “With a heavy heart, I have to inform you that I have submitted my letter of no confidence to the chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady.”

In an interview with Friday’s Chopper’s Politics podcast, which you can listen using the audio player at the top of this article, Mr Bridgen said he hoped Mr Johnson would be out of Number 10 within “two or three months”.

He said: “That would be acceptable, and that would draw a line under the matter. If he left politics, he will leave with a great deal of gratitude from a large proportion of our population for the efforts that he’s done on our behalf, delivering Brexit, getting us out of the pandemic.”

Mr Bridgen described the process of handing in his letter of no confidence, which he gave to a worker at Sir Graham’s office in Westminster’s Portcullis House complex. He said. “I don’t trust the internal post so I actually took it round his office by hand and handed it to his senior secretary and pointed out that it was a very, very confidential letter.

“People have asked me how many letters are in. I do not know. All I can tell you is I know there’s one in.”

Listen to Chopper’s Politics, The Telegraph’s weekly political podcast, using the audio player in this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.