BORIS Johnson will face an imminent leadership vote after enough Tories have now demanded he quit following Partygate, rebels claim.
Mutineers expect party bigwig Sir Graham Brady to announce this morning that more than 54 Conservative MPs have submitted no confidence letters.
A Downing Street source told Trending In The News they “would not be surprised” if the threshold has been met.
It would set up a dramatic secret ballot in the coming days – likely Tuesday or Wednesday – in which Tory MPs will decide Mr Johnson’s fate.
The PM has vowed to fight tooth and nail to squash the revolt and stay in Downing Street.
Cabinet colleague Sajid Javid said this morning that if a vote is triggered the PM “will fight in his corner with a very, very strong case.”
But if the size of the mutiny surpasses 180 MPs he will be kicked out of No10 and a fresh contest for the Tory crown will take place.
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Disgruntled rebels seized on voters booing the PM this weekend as he attended a Platinum Jubilee service at St Paul’s Cathedral.
A steady drumbeat of rebellion has been building since the Sue Gray report into lockdown-busting bashes was published last month.
Rebel MPs have shared a brutal briefing which warns the PM “is no longer an electoral asset and, if left in post, will lead the Party to a substantial defeat in 2024”.
They fear 160 Tory MPs could lose their seats with Boris still in No10 turning a “defeat into a landslide”.
The briefing says: “The entire purpose of the government now appears to be the sustenance of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. MPs are having to defend the indefensible, not for the sake of the party, but for one man.”
Mr Johnson apologised for in a press conference and Commons statement, before begging the nation to move on from Partygate so he can focus on the cost of living crisis and Ukraine.
He hopes to reset the agenda by focusing on health and with a new right-to-buy scheme for housing association tenants, unveiled in a key speech on Thursday.
