A senior Tory MP has slammed Liz Truss and her government as "a shambles and a disgrace" after farcical scenes in the House of Commons on Wednesday night. The PM's premiership is now hanging in the balance, after accusations that MPs were physically manhandled and left in tears during a key vote on fracking.
Conservative whips initially stated that the vote on whether to allocate Commons time to consider legislation to stop shale gas extraction was being treated as a "confidence motion" in the government. However, after a number of Tory MPs signalled they would not take part in the vote, climate minister Graham Stuart said it was "quite clearly not" a confidence vote, causing confusion among MPs who were left unsure whether they would lose the party whip if they abstained or voted against the motion.
Labour's motion was defeated by 230 votes to 326, but the tumultuous scenes surrounding the vote led to "very strong rumours" that the Government chief whip had resigned, while allegations of bullying were levelled against Government whips. MP for the Rhondda, Chris Bryant, said some MPs had been "physically manhandled and bullied", while Cardiff North MP Anna McMorrin said she had seen one Tory member "in tears".
