Boris Johnson faces confidence vote today in leadership challenge

Prime minister's allies warn of 'blue-on-blue civil war' if he loses ballot

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hours away from a confidence vote on his leadership after rebel MPs gathered enough support to force a ballot.

The vote among Mr Johnson's 359 Conservative MPs will take place later on Monday, said party rules enforcer Graham Brady as he announced that the threshold for a contest had been met.

It marks the most serious challenge yet to Mr Johnson's three-year premiership, after the months-long scandal over parties at Downing Street during lockdown exposed rule-breaking and "failures of leadership" at the heart of his government.

Mr Johnson responded with a letter to MPs pleading for their support, hinting at future tax cuts and describing the vote as "the moment to draw a line" under the scandals of recent months.

"I do not believe our voters will lightly forgive us if — just when they need us most to be focusing on them — we appear once again to be focusing on Westminster politics," he wrote.

As Mr Johnson scrambled for the necessary 180 votes to save his political career:

- Loyal cabinet members rallied around the prime minister, praising him for his decisions during the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and warning against a messy leadership contest;

- Two senior figures seen as potential successors - Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Chancellor Rishi Sunak - gave their backing to Mr Johnson. But former minister Jeremy Hunt, another possible candidate, said he would vote for a change of leader;

- One of the rebels, Jesse Norman, published a stinging attack on Mr Johnson accusing him of running a divisive, aimless government that had lost public trust, while fellow MP Roger Gale said the prime minister was "not the fit and proper person" to remain in power;

- Anti-corruption tsar John Penrose resigned and said he would vote against the prime minister, saying Mr Johnson had breached ministerial standards;

- The leader of the opposition Labour Party called on Conservative MPs to depose Mr Johnson, and said the vote showed he was already politically weakened.

The dramatic developments came as MPs returned to Westminster following the four-day platinum jubilee celebrations, during which Mr Johnson was booed on his way to a thanksgiving service.

Mr Brady said some MPs had dated their letters for Monday so that the vote would not overshadow the jubilee. Several went public with their dissent after civil servant Sue Gray published her report into the Partygate scandal, revealing sordid details of what occurred behind 10 Downing Street's black door.

The Conservatives suffered heavy losses at local elections in May, raising fears among MPs that their seats were in jeopardy if Mr Johnson remains in his post.

Mr Hunt, who was defeated by Mr Johnson in the 2019 leadership race, said that "because we are no longer trusted by the electorate... we are set to lose the next general election".

But in outbreak of Tory-on-Tory hostilities, Culture Secretary and Johnson ally Nadine Dorries sought to deflect Mr Hunt's attack by saying his six years as health secretary had left the country poorly prepared for the pandemic.

Labour leader Keir Starmer called on Tory MPs to "show some leadership" by voting against Mr Johnson and said it was "in the national interest that he goes now".

He said that even if Mr Johnson wins, "I think history tells us that this is the beginning of the end."

Mr Brady's announcement means 15 per cent of Conservative MPs have formally called for a leadership contest. About 30 of the necessary 54 have made their request public.

Mr Johnson was informed late on Sunday that the threshold had been met and agreed that the vote should happen as soon as possible, Mr Brady said.

The prime minister was expected to address a committee of Tory backbenchers on Monday before a vote takes place by secret ballot between 6pm and 8pm. Votes will be counted shortly afterwards.

Earlier on Monday he made a point of addressing the war in Ukraine - speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky and announcing new weapons deliveries - as allies said it was the wrong time for a leadership contest.

Aside from Partygate, there is broader discontent about Mr Johnson's style of leadership, his policies and his respect for democratic standards. But his supporters say he has got the big calls right on issues such as Ukraine and the pandemic.

"We didn't get every decision right... but we got the big decisions right," said Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who also announced he was backing the prime minister.

Mr Johnson wrote in his letter that "over recent months I have come under a great deal of fire... some of that criticism has perhaps been fair, some less so".

A briefing document for Mr Johnson's allies, leaked to Sky News, urged them to make the case that a Tory leadership race would be "distracting, divisive and destructive" at a time of war in Europe and soaring living costs for people in Britain.

"A blue-on-blue civil war will be vicious and tear the party apart," said, referring to the party's traditional colours. "Voters will only hear: we are divided, distracted and talking to ourselves about ourselves."

Defeat for Mr Johnson would effectively end his premiership only two and a half years after he led the Conservatives to their biggest majority in three decades, promising to end the tortuous Brexit process and exploiting his appeal as an unconventional, often outspoken politician.

But questions over ethical standards have plagued his leadership, and the Gray report revived public outrage over Partygate after the war in Ukraine had eased pressure on Mr Johnson for a time.

The revelations that senior officials had partied at Downing Street outraged many people who made harrowing sacrifices during lockdown. Mr Johnson paid a £50 ($63) fine and apologised after the Gray report outlined "failures of leadership", but denied having misled parliament.

Victory in Monday's vote would make him immune from another such challenge for 12 months, although dire political reality could still force him out. Mr Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, faced down a leadership challenge in December 2018 but resigned the following July.

Mr Norman on Monday made public a wounding letter in which he said Mr Johnson had "presided over a culture of casual law-breaking" and was likely to lead the party to defeat at the next election, expected in 2024.

"Under you, the government seems to lack a sense of mission," Mr Norman wrote. "It has a large majority, yet no long-term plan.

"Rather, you are simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines mainly for your advantage, at a time when the economy is struggling."

A leaked document said to have been circulating among rebel MPs said Mr Johnson was “no longer an electoral asset” and said the whiff of scandal around his government not going away. It said the public would no longer believe promises from Mr Johnson after the “breach of trust” caused by Partygate.

“MPs are having to defend the indefensible, not for the sake of the party, but for one man,” said the paper published by several news outlets.

Boris Johnson through the years - in pictures