Theresa May is braced for a fresh assault from Boris Johnson today – as it emerged the Foreign Secretary made his bombshell decision to quit over ham sandwiches with aides.
The Prime Minister appears to have weathered the initial onslaught from Eurosceptics as they mount an all-out bid to toughen up her Brexit policy.
Unlike David Davis, Mr Johnson refused an invitation to go on the BBC’s flagship Today programme today and explain his position.
But Mrs May’s allies are in no doubt that Mr Johnson wants to push his ambitions of taking over at Downing Street.
Fresh details have surfaced about the dramatic hours that led up to his resignation as Foreign Secretary.
Sources told MailOnline Boris Johnson was in jovial mood as he posed for photographs signing the resignation letter last night
Mr Johnson’s ministerial red box was removed from his official residence of Carlton Gardens yesterday following his resignation
Speculation started to swirl about Mr Johnson’s intentions in the wake of Mr Davis quitting late on Sunday night.
Usually responsive aides stopped answering calls from journalists – and Mr Johnson himself remained stubbornly silent.
How could Theresa May be ousted as Tory leader?
Theresa May faces a mortal threat to her leadership of the Conservative Party and Government today.
A Tory leadership contest can be called in one of two ways – if Mrs May resigns or if MPs force and win a vote of no confidence in her.
Calling votes of no confidence is the responsibility of the chairman of the 1922 Committee, which includes all backbench Tory MPs.
Chairman Graham Brady is obliged to call a vote if 15 per cent of Tory MPs write to him calling for one – currently 48 MPs.
The process is secret and only Mr Brady knows how many letters he has received.
The procedure was last used in 2003 when Iain Duncan Smith was ousted as Tory leader.
If Mrs May is ousted, any MP is eligible to stand.
Conservative MPs will then hold a series of ballots to whittle the list of contenders down to two, with the last place candidate dropping out in each round.
The final two candidates are then offered to the Tory membership at large for an election.
A game of ‘Where’s Boris?’ soon developed, with contradictory claims about whether he had turned up for a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee on the Amesbury nerve agent poisonings.
The rumours intensified when Mr Johnson then failed to appear at the Western Balkans summit being held in central London.
He was meant to host a lunch for dignitaries from across Europe, but was nowhere to be seen.
Germany’s Europe minister Michael Roth complained on Twitter: ‘We’re still waiting for our host..’
Mr Johnson and his closest advisors were finally tracked down to his official residence at Carlton Gardens.
Allies not holed up in the room told reporters that they felt the Foreign Secretary might follow through on his threats this time. One said the situation was ‘looking ominous’.
TV crews stationed around deduced what was going on because Mr Johnson’s security detail was still parked outside the residence.
Mr Johnson signed up to the Brexit policy at the Chequers summit, and even apparently toasted the outcome.
But despite offering to write a joint op ed piece with Chancellor Philip Hammond, Mr Johnson then got cold feet.
He is said to have spoken to friends and family over the weekend, before thrashing out his options with aides.
The final momentous decision was made as the team consumed ham and cheese sandwiches in the opulent surroundings, according to The Sun.
Mr Johnson informed Downing Street of his depature by phone at around 2.30pm, but had not penned his resignation letter at that point.
Mr Johnson’s resignation was announced by Downing Street just minutes before Theresa May stood up in the House of Commons
Mrs May initially secured support from ministers at her Chequers summit (pictured) but it has now potentially sparked a slew of resignations
No10 attempted to take some of the sting away by announcing his resignation in a brief statement shortly afterwards.
But it did not seem to have dented Mr Johnson’s confidence in his decision.
Sources told MailOnline he was in jovial mood as he posed for photographs signing the resignation letter later in the evening.
How a day of Brexit chaos unfolded
Theresa May’s Government was rocked in 20 hours of Brexit chaos. This is how the drama unfolded minute by minute:
Sunday July 8, 23.59
David Davis sensationally resigns as Brexit Secretary, insisting he cannot support the Chequers plan because it will hand Britain only ‘illusory’ control over its future.
Monday July 9, 00.18
Leading Brexiteer Peter Bone welcomes the ‘principled and brave decision’.
00.32
Mr Davis’ deputy Steve Baker quits Dexeu.
00.37
Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory European Research Group, tells Sky News Mr Davis quitting proves the Chequers plan is a ‘serious mistake’.
01.16
Theresa May’s letter to Mr Davis says she is sorry he is quitting after getting the UK close to exit and defends her plans.
02.43
Jeremy Corbyn tweets an attack on a ‘Government in chaos’ and claims Mrs May no longer has any authority.
04.38
Nigel Farage tweets congratulations and calls on Tory MPs to remove the ‘awful, duplicitous PM’.
05.10
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry points out Theresa May has lost a Cabinet minister every six weeks.
08.18
Davis tells the Today programme he is quitting because he cannot defend something ‘central’ to his job. He endorses May to carry on as PM.
08.30
Labour MP David Lammy is among the first to point out Davis is running away from responsibility as a Brexiteer.
09.17
Rees-Mogg tells LBC there will not be an immediate confidence vote but warns May to drop her Chequers plan because it won’t ‘actually deliver Brexit’.
10.25
Dominic Raab is appointed Brexit Secretary.
11.57
EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas insists Davis quitting changes nothing in the talks and says Brussels is ‘here to work’.
13.20
Boris Johnson fails to appear at either a Cobra meeting in Whitehall or the Western Balkans summit in central London.
13.47
With rumours swirling, Nigel Farage says Johnson would be a ‘hero’ if he resigned.
14.31
A removal van is spotted outside the Johnson family home in Islington.
15.02
Downing Street announces Johnson’s resignation. Word spreads he is still writing his resignation letter and No 10 has pre-empted his announcement.
15.34
Donald Tusk tweets his continued regret at Brexit but hints at hopes the resignations could stop the entire process.
15.36
May is cheered by Tory MPs as she rises in the Commons to present the Chequers plan – but she is jeered and faces shouts of ‘resign’ from the Opposition.
15.55
Corbyn mocks the Prime Minister for taking two years to develop a plan that took two days to collapse.
16.43
Downing Street vow May will contest any no confidence vote.
17.09
Rumours swirl 1922 chairman Sir Graham Brady has the 48 letters needed to call a no confidence vote. He denies it as MPs gather.
17.43
May arrives at a packed 1922 Committee to loud banging of tables.
18.09
Johnson’s resignation letter emerges, claiming the ‘Brexit dream is dying’ and May’s plan will consign Britain to a future as a ‘colony’.
19.59
May’s response to Johnson is published saying she is ‘sorry – and a little surprised’ he is quitting over a policy he endorsed at Cabinet on Friday.
21.00
Jeremy Hunt is appointed Foreign Secretary
