Theresa May confirms she will attend showdown meeting with Conservative rebels

Tuesday's cabinet was punctuated with 'feisty' exchanges after which Ms May agreed ministers would have weekly briefings on her Brexit plans

Theresa May has confirmed she will attend a showdown meeting with rebellious MPs at the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee on Wednesday.

It means the prime minister will have to speak to and take questions from her backbenchers behind closed doors, with many of them said to be plotting her downfall.

On Tuesday morning she emerged from what several sources later told The Independent was a cabinet meeting punctuated with “feisty” exchanges, during which she agreed ministers would receive weekly updates on her Brexit strategy.

It comes after she managed to sidestep a Commons rebellion over her proposals planned for Wednesday, amid a backlash against critics using unsavoury language about her.

Both Ms May’s aides and sources at the powerful 1922 Committee confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the prime minister would now be attending the meeting, despite signs in the morning that she would not.

Until now it looked as though Conservative party chair Brandon Lewis would go in her stead, but the prime minister’s decision to go herself suggests confidence that she can face down her critics.

Once her attendance was announced, a No 10 source said: “The prime minister is taking the opportunity to talk to her colleagues.”

The last time she attended a 1922 Committee, the meeting was also preceded by rebellious noises from her backbenches, but it ended with supportive MPs banging the desks in a show of solidarity. Aides are unlikely to have agreed to the PM’s attendance had they expected any different from tomorrow.

Ms May survived spirited exchanges with several members of her cabinet on Tuesday morning, with one telling The Independent: “It’s fair to say they were feisty.”

Ministers will now receive weekly briefings from Brexit secretary Dominic Raab over progress in talks with Brussels.

It’s fair to say they were feisty

Cabinet source

Key figures in the cabinet, including Penny Mordaunt, Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom, have been pushing Ms May to change tack in her approach to the Brexit negotiations, with the weekly briefings now offering a chance for them to question her more regularly.

Over the weekend, media reports emerged with Tory rebels using aggressive and violent language to attack the prime minister, including one who warned that Ms May should “bring her own noose” if she decided to come to the 1922 meeting.

MPs were quoted as saying she was now entering “the killing zone” and that “assassination is in the air”, while another unnamed Tory was quoted as saying: “The moment is coming when the knife gets heated, stuck in her front and twisted. She’ll be dead soon.”

With the planned rebellion also looking likely on Wednesday, this week appeared to be the toughest Ms May would face yet. But on Monday she won a reprieve when she promised to enshrine in law her plans for the Irish border.

Lead Brexit rebel Steve Baker MP called off plans to demand a vote on a motion that would have severely restricted her ability to manoeuvre after hearing of her announcement.

In a further boost, reports on Tuesday that enough MPs had submitted letters to trigger a vote of no confidence in Ms May appeared not to hold water.

Under party rules 15 per cent of sitting MPs, currently 48, must submit letters to the chair of the 1922, Sir Graham Brady, after which he would announce a vote of no confidence.

Elsewhere, Irish broadcaster RTE reported that the EU is ready to agree the UK-wide backstop proposed by Ms May, but only as part of a separate treaty including a backstop applying to Northern Ireland only.

But Ms May's official spokesman said: "The prospect of Northern Ireland being placed in a different customs arrangement to the rest of the UK is unacceptable."