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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Pippa Crerar & Dan Bloom & Ryan Paton

Boris Johnson under pressure as 20 Tory MPs plot no confidence vote

Boris Johnson's future as Prime Minister is under threat after Tory MPs met to plot his downfall.

According to the Mirror Online, as many as 20 ministers reportedly plan to submit letters of no confidence today.

The angry MPs are plotting to oust Mr Johnson after he was accused of lying to the House of Commons by claiming he thought that a "bring your own booze" garden party on May 20, 2020 was a work event.

READ MORE: Dominic Raab backtracks after accidentally admitting 'party' in car crash interview

Mr Johnson is facing renewed calls to quit after his ex-aide, Dominic Cummings, claimed he had warned against the "bring your own booze" event in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.

In explosive claims, Mr Cummings alleged the PM "waved aside" concerns about the rule-busting gathering at the height of lockdown.

The Prime Minister insisted he didn't know the party was "against the rules" during a visit to a hospital in North London yesterday.

However, the claims have failed to satisfy angry red wall Tories who are plotting to topple the PM over the partygate scandal.

The Mirror understands the group of Tory rebels were elected at the 2019 election and met at Westminster last night to conspire over Mr Johnson's future.

The plan to oust the PM has been dubbed the 'Pork Pie Plot' because the MP for Rutland and Melton - home of Melton Mowbray's infamous pork pies - is alleged to have been involved.

One Tory told the Mirror: “His time has gone.”

Another said: “I think we’ve done it... The whips operation completely backfired. Colleagues now have a sense they aren’t alone.”

An investigation into the alleged lockdown parties is currently being conducted by Sue Gray - and the Mirror understand the Whitehall enforcer will interview Mr Cummings before presenting her findings.

A Government source said: "Sue wants the inquiry to be as robust as possible. He is going to be interviewed by the time the inquiry concludes."

Many Tory MPs are waiting for the result of Ms Gray's inquiry, which could be pushed back until next week, before deciding whether to trigger a confidence vote in the PM.

Exactly 54 letters need to be submitted, with reports suggesting that around half that number had already been reached.

Bury South MP Christian Wakeford became the seventh Tory to stick his head above the parapet and publicly confirm he had submitted his letter.

Ominously for the PM, he warned that some of his Red Wall colleagues “have written the letters but haven’t sent them in yet”.

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