Boris Johnson's premiership is at risk like never before as over a dozen Tory MPs from the 2019 election are said to be furious at the Prime Minister for his handling of the Partygate scandal.
The MPs are reportedly preparing to submit their letters of no confidence to the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady - and some are believed to have already written in.
Reports suggest that the 54 letters will reach Sir Graham by Wednesday, January 19, which means Johnson could be facing a vote of no confidence soon after.
Here's everything you need to know about the conspiratorial 'Pork Pie Plot', which Tory MPs have publicly called for the Prime Minister to resign and what's likely to happen next.
What is the Pork Pie Plot about?
More than 20 Tory MPs who won seats in the ‘Red Wall’ - a number of constituencies in northern England that had typically voted Labour until the 2019 election - are said to have met on Tuesday, January 18 to discuss Johnson's future as Prime Minister.
The gathering was nicknamed the “Pork Pie Plot” or the “Pork Pie Putsch” as it was hosted by MP for Rutland and Melton Alicia Kearns - and Melton is the town best known for its pork pies.
Some of the plotters include Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison; Chris Loder, who hosted the group’s last meeting; Gary Sambrook , the first Tory to hold Birmingham Northfield since 1992, as well as Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, who is best-known for cursing at scandal-hit colleague Owen Paterson in the Commons.
Who has called for the Prime Minister to resign?
Seven Tory MPs have publicly called for Johnson's resignation. Wakeford – who has a majority of just 402 – was the latest to make the call for the Prime Minister to resign on Tuesday. He then defected to Labour just before Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, citing Johnson as "incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves".
Though only a handful of Tories have publicly called for his resignation, several of them are believed to be furious over Johnson's handling of the Partygate scandal.
They were angered further by the PM's statement that nobody told him that the party at Downing Street was a violation of the country-wide rules he himself had set.
What's likely to happen next?
An inquiry into the Downing Street parties, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, is expected to be published on either Friday or early next week.
Some MPs are reported to be waiting for Ms Gray’s findings before deciding on submitting a letter to Sir Graham.
If the 54 letters needed to trigger a no confidence vote is reached, the next step will see Tory MPs voting on whether they have confidence in in the Prime Minister.
Johnson will need 50% or more of MPs to back him or end up losing his position. If he does end up winning, then the MPs will be barred from forcing another vote on his premiership for the next 12 months.
