‘Pork pie plot’: Rebel MPs conspire to oust Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson is set to announce the lifting of "Plan B" Covid restrictions on Wednesday as a plot to oust him by Tory MPs first elected in 2019 emerged.

The Cabinet is expected to sign off scrapping work from home guidance and Covid passports at a meeting on Wednesday morning, although some face mask rules could remain.

The changes – which would take effect in England after Jan 26 – come as Mr Johnson is set to play up his record on tackling Covid to counter a rebellion sparked by revelations about Downing Street parties.

The Prime Minister gave his first public comments in six days on Tuesday, issuing a "categorical" denial that he was warned that a Downing Street garden drinks event on May 20, 2020, was "against the rules".

Yet as he laid out his defence, a group of 20 recently elected Tory MPs, many representing former Labour heartland "Red Wall" seats, met to discuss his fate in a gathering described as the "pork pie plot".

Christian Wakeford, who represents Bury South, also became the first Tory MP from a "Red Wall" constituency to publicly confirm submitting a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson. Seven Tory MPs are now openly calling on the Prime Minister to resign.

Analysis by The Times shows that 58 Tory MPs have publicly expressed criticism of Mr Johnson and his team over "partygate" allegations.

It comes as it emerged that Sue Gray, the civil servant investigating allegations of lockdown rule-breaking parties, is due to interview Dominic Cummings, who claims he warned Mr Johnson that the May 2020 gathering was against the rules.

Ms Gray has also been told where to find a potentially explosive email sent by someone in Number 10 at the time objecting to the "socially distanced drinks".

The political crisis facing Mr Johnson escalated with the "pork pie plot", a nickname chosen by allies because it was hosted by Alicia Kearns, the Tory MP who represents Melton, the home of Melton Mowbray pork pies. Ms Kearns denies leading any plot.

Those present told The Telegraph the group discussed submitting letters of no confidence together – a move that would markedly increase the political danger for Mr Johnson. If 54 Tory MPs submit letters to the 1922 Committee, an automatic leadership vote is triggered.

Tory whips believe the number submitted is in the 20s, but one 2019 rebel claimed the 54 threshold could be triggered as early as Wednesday.

Mr Johnson seemed downcast on Tuesday as he again apologised for behaviour during lockdowns in Downing Street under his watch. He said: "I want to begin by repeating my apologies to everybody for the misjudgments that I've made, that we may have made in Number 10 and beyond, whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic."

During the interview, he was asked whether he had been warned against holding a gathering in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. It is alleged that food and alcohol were laid out on tables for around 40 people to enjoy, despite the lockdown rules, and that Mr Johnson was in attendance.

Mr Cummings, once Mr Johnson's closest ally but now an arch-critic, has said he would be willing to swear under "oath" that he warned him against the gathering.

Mr Johnson denied that, saying: "I carry full responsibility for what took place, but nobody told me. I'm absolutely categorical – nobody said to me this is an event that is against the rules."

However, the comment did not explicitly rule out the possibility that at some point he was made aware of concerns about the gathering before it went ahead.

The Prime Minister and Number 10 have previously argued that he "implicitly" believed the event was for work and not a party – a defence ridiculed by his political opponents.

Mr Johnson looked forlorn throughout the 16-minute interview, not least when apologising for the two Downing Street leaving parties, revealed by The Telegraph last week, that were held the night before the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

"I deeply and bitterly regret that that happened," he said. "I can only renew my apologies, both to Her Majesty and to the country for misjudgments that were made, and for which I take full responsibility."

Two developments in Ms Gray's investigation, which has been running for weeks and could conclude as early as the end of this week, focus on Mr Johnson's May 2020 denial.

Mr Cummings has been contacted by her team and is willing to give an interview sharing what he knows about discussions before the event. The team is also understood to have communicated with a second former Number 10 official who claims to have objected to the gathering.

The individual has claimed to have responded to an email invitation from Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson's principal private secretary, proposing the "socially distanced drinks". The Telegraph understands the former official has told Ms Gray where to find the email response objecting to the proposed event – potential hard evidence of concerns being raised at the time.

On Tuesday, the backbench rebellion against Mr Johnson took a new turn as the scale of discontent from MPs elected in 2019 emerged.

More than 100 Conservative MPs were first voted into Parliament that year – close to a third of all Tory MPs – meaning they are just two years into their frontline political careers. Despite sweeping into power under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the MPs, many of whom have small majorities in former Labour seats, are deemed more rebellious by party whips.

In a bid to quell the rebellion, Mr Johnson was understood to have met small groups from the 2019 intake on Tuesday night. They included Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, who was said by colleagues to be "wobbling" over whether to continue to support the Prime Minister.

Johnson loyalists claimed two MPs from the group – Ms Kearns and Chris Loder, the Tory MP for West Dorset – were key figures driving the plot. Ms Kearns declined to comment on the private meeting held in her office but told The Telegraph: "I'm not leading a rebellion."

Mr Loder denied being a ring-leader, telling The Telegraph: "Our meetings have been none other than a group of Conservative MPs sharing views and opinions amongst one another – as happens here day in, day out.

"I want to make sure that decency, honour and integrity are returned to the heart of government, and I think that would be a good shared objective rather than the distraction of briefing out about rebellion ringleaders."

A 2019 Tory MP present at the meeting said: "Did everyone talk about being angry? Yes. Do people think this is potentially terminal? Yes. Are people thinking about what's going to happen to our party in the coming months? Yes. Are there people looking to move? Of course they are. Do I think there's a chance that a lot of people could put their letters in? Yes, I really do."

A Tory source loyal to Mr Johnson claimed: "It was all about letters – when, how to time it, whether to wait for the Sue Gray report or sooner. They were very much talking tactics."

Tory whips, in charge of party discipline, were stationed near the office to see who was attending. Some of those present were being called and reprimanded on Tuesday night.

Gary Sambrook, who is on the Government's "watch list" of potential 2019 rebels, wrote to a constituent on Tuesday saying he would await the findings of Ms Gray's report before reaching "final conclusions". However, he added: "I would expect anyone who is found to have broken the law to seriously consider their position in government, and that includes the Prime Minister."

Separately, Steve Brine, a former health minister, told a local resident that the events in Downing Street were "indefensible" and an "insult to my constituents who sacrificed so much."

Mr Brine said he would weigh up the inquiry's findings along with the "other self-inflicted wounds of recent months", as well as the benefits of maintaining the "status quo" versus "what/who we will get with a change".

In a separate development, Whitehall sources pushed back against reports that ministers could begin charging for lateral flow Covid tests by the end of June as the country transitions to living with Covid.

According to Reuters, a document shared between the UK's health agencies includes a timetable for ending universally free tests by the end of that month, although this has been pushed back from earlier in the year because of the omicron variant.

On Tuesday night, a Department for Health source insisted they did not recognise the document or the June deadline, adding that free tests would remain in place for "as long as needed".