The prime minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have defied calls to resign after they were fined for breaking COVID-19 rules - with more than half of voters thinking he should go.

Mr Johnson received a fixed penalty notice after attending a gathering for his birthday in the Cabinet room in June 2020, when the country was under coronavirus restrictions.

His wife Carrie and his chancellor are also among those who have been or will be issued with more than 50 fines - up to now - as a result of the Metropolitan Police's investigation into parties in Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020 and 2021.

Mr Johnson is reported to have attended six of the 12 gatherings being investigated and he did not rule out the possibility that he could be facing further fines.

Mr Shapps told Sky News' Kay Burley he personally understood the public's "upset and anger" over the fines - as someone who had been unable to visit his own father in hospital for four months.

But he said the PM should be judged "in the round" by how he is doing his job overall.

"I'm not saying that the prime minister isn't a flawed individual - we're all flawed in different ways, we all err.

"The question is did somebody set out to these things with malice? And actually overall is he doing a good job as prime minister?

"He made a mistake - it was embarrassing and stupid, the prime minister's mortified about it.

Read more: Partygate: what happens now?

"But I think there's a big job for him to get on and do - on behalf of the British people and on behalf of the world fighting this cruel war."

Some Tory MPs had even before the fines were issued called into question the PM's position as a result of the scandal and one of them, Nigel Mills, has now reaffirmed that he thinks Mr Johnson's position is untenable.

"I think for a prime minister in office to be given a fine and accept it and pay it for breaking the laws that he introduced... is just an impossible position," he said.

"I don't think the PM can survive or should survive breaking the rules he put in place."

However others have rallied round and taken the position that Mr Johnson should - at least for now - remain in office.

Baroness Altmann, the Conservative peer and former pensions minister, told Sky News it was "shocking" to see fines being issued and though with the war and cost of living crisis going on "urgent or immediate reaction may not be the best course", many Tory MPs would be considering how their constituents will react.

She added: "I think there is a moral question mark over the integrity and the trust that can be placed in the people at the top."

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sky News: "Britain deserves better than this prime minister and this chancellor who lie and lie and lie and can't stick to the rules that they tell everybody else are so essential."

Ian Blackford, the SNP's leader at Westminster, told Sky News it was "bogus" to say that Mr Johnson needed to stay in power because of the war in Ukraine, given that Britain changed PMs during both world wars.

"This man is a stain on our democracy," Mr Blackford said.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told Sky News: "There were tens of thousands of people who wanted to have just five minutes holding the hand of their dying relative... and they weren't allowed to.

"That's why, listening to people who were bereaved during COVID - really cross and angry with the government - they're calling for the prime minister to do the decent thing and resign."

Human rights barrister Adam Wagner speculated that if the PM's fines mount up he could end up paying more than £10,000.

On Tuesday, Mr Johnson offered a "full apology", but when asked if he would quit, he added: "I want to be able to get on and deliver the mandate that I have, but also to tackle the problems that the country must face right now."

A snap poll for YouGov found 57% of voters thought he should resign and 75% said he had knowingly lied, while a survey by Savanta ComRes showed 61% said he should quit.

Follow the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Mr Johnson's immediate future will be decided by his Tory colleagues, who can trigger a leadership challenge if 54 of the party's 360 parliamentary members demand a confidence vote.

Senior Tories including Michael Gove and Mr Shapps have rallied around the prime minister, saying now is not the time for a change in leadership.

However one backbench MP, Andrew Bridgen, said: "This is not the end of this matter."

There is also the matter of Sue Gray's report. The senior civil servant who gathered the evidence that triggered the Met investigation, has said she will publish her report when the police have concluded their work.

Read more: Johnson may have weathered the storm for now, but the worst could be yet to come

Mr and Mrs Johnson and the chancellor were understood to have paid reduced rate fines of £50 each for breaking lockdown rules as the fixed penalty notices were settled within 14 days.

Mr Sunak apologised, saying: "I know people sacrificed a great deal during COVID, and they will find this situation upsetting. I deeply regret the frustration and anger caused and I am sorry.

"Like the prime minister, I am focused on delivering for the British people at this challenging time."

A spokesperson for Mrs Johnson said: "While she believed that she was acting in accordance with the rules at the time, Mrs Johnson accepts the Metropolitan Police's findings and apologises unreservedly."