Brexiteer MPs ‘threaten to bring down Theresa May if she refuses to abandon Chequers plan’
Backbenchers were forced to deny they are plotting to vote against the Budget later this month
HARDLINE Brexiteers were today forced to deny they are plotting to bring down the Government in a bid to wreck the PM's Chequers plans.
Tory MPs are said to be hatching a plan to vote against the Budget if Theresa May refuses to shift her position on Brexit.
They have reportedly used secret WhatsApp groups to co-ordinate their attack on the Chequers proposals.
Veteran Eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin told fellow MPs: "Make no mistake, a soft/non-Brexit pushed by the Conservative establishment but put through with Labour support will look like we are abandoning our supporters and remove any sense of obligation among Conservative Brexit-supporting MPs to continue to support the Government."
But he insisted the message was not intended as a threat to bring down Mrs May.
Sir Bernard said: "I don't know of any Conservative MP who has any intention of voting against the Government in the Budget.
"That is not what the message said."
One MP Mrs May would struggle to force her domestic agenda through the Commons unless she reached a Brexit compromise with her own party.
The backbencher said: "She hasn’t got a majority and, by God, she’s going to be shown she hasn’t got a majority."
If the PM lost the overall vote on the Budget, she would effectively be forced to resign.
But parts of the Budget could be voted down in a show of strength by the Brexiteers without bringing down the Government entirely.
Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, a backer of the anti-Brexit Best for Britain campaign, said today: "While Theresa May dances to distract the crowds, the Brexiteers are trying to lead her down a path to economic destruction.
"The real story here is that the PM has lost the argument on all fronts - in her party, in Parliament and in the country."
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Today leaders of the European Research Group confirmed they are willing to accept EU involvement in British ports in a bid to avoid customs chaos.
Iain Duncan Smith said: "Any customs or regulatory checks could be made at juxtaposed controls with information-sharing and co-operation between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
"This would not simply answer concerns about keeping the Northern Ireland border open - it would also ensure the channel ports continue to provide as frictionless trade as possible."
Boris faces fresh discipline probe from Tory bosses
BORIS Johnson faces a fresh probe from Tory bosses over his "suicide vest" jibe at Theresa May, it emerged today.
The top Brexiteer is already under investigation for his controversial column about banning the burka.
But the probe has been delayed further as party officials look into a second newspaper article written by Mr Johnson.
He wrote last month that the PM had "wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution" - sparking outrage from rivals.
A source close to Tory chairman Brandon Lewis told the Mail on Sunday that the original investigation "is being slowed down by complaints we have also received about the suicide vest remarks".
Allies of Boris have accused the party of trying to bring him down because they're worried about his popularity.
One friend said: "What has most rattled Number 10 is that party members clearly agree with Boris and think Chequers must be chucked."
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