Scotland Yard will meet the rebel Tory who said government whips had ‘blackmailed’ backbenchers – as Boris beefs up top team amid no-confidence vote fears
- Rebel Tory William Wragg, 34, said he is meeting Met Police detective next week
- He will discuss his allegations of government whips ‘blackmailing’ backbenchers
- He has claimed Boris Johnson’s critics were facing ‘intimidation’ and ‘bullying’
- Comes as backbenchers claim to have taped party enforcers trying to bully MPs
Scotland Yard are set to meet with the rebel Tory who accused government whips of ‘blackmailing’ backbenchers seeking to oust Boris Johnson, who is understood to have reinstated his leadership team amid fears of a no-confidence vote.
William Wragg, 34, said he will be meeting a detective from the Metropolitan Police in the House of Commons early next week to discuss his allegations, raising the prospect police could open an investigation.
On Thursday, senior Tory Mr Wragg claimed Boris Johnson’s critics were facing ‘intimidation’ as part of an effort to prevent him being ousted from office.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has reportedly reinstated the team of ministers who helped him win the 2019 leadership contest in a bid to save his premiership as fears of a no-confidence vote increase amid Partygate chaos.
Mr Wragg said on Friday that next week, he plans to tell the detective ‘several’ examples of bullying and intimidation, claiming some cases involved public money.
He told The Telegraph: ‘I stand by what I have said. No amount of gas-lighting will change that.’
William Wragg (pictured), 34, said he will be meeting a detective from the Metropolitan Police in the House of Commons early next week to discuss his allegations of ‘blackmail’
‘I am meeting the Police early next week,’ he added.
The Metropolitan Police said if any criminal offence was reported, then ‘it would be considered’.
It comes after Downing Street said it would not be mounting its own inquiry into the claims, despite calls to do so by both Conservative and opposition MPs.
A No 10 spokesman said it would only open an inquiry if it was presented with evidence to back up Mr Wragg’s assertions.
But Mr Wragg, the Chair of Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said he believed an investigation should be left for the ‘experts’ in the police.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘As with any such allegations, should a criminal offence be reported to the Met, it would be considered.’
Regarding reports of the meeting, the spokesman added: ‘We are not able to discuss.’
MailOnline has contacted No 10 for comment.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is believed to be using the group of ministers who helped him to win the 2019 leadership contest to record the stance of every Tory MP.
On Thursday, senior Tory Mr Wragg claimed Boris Johnson’s (pictured) critics were facing ‘intimidation’ as part of an effort to prevent him being ousted from office
They are said to be compiling a spreadsheet outlining which politicians are loyal to Mr Johnson, which are wavering and which want to oust him, as fears of a no-confidence vote in the Premier are increasing, The Times reported.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps is understood to have revived the spreadsheet he created in 2019, which was credited with helping to secure Mr Johnson’s success in the leadership contest.
Three former whips – Chris Pincher, Chris Heaton Harris and Nigel Adams – and Conor Burns, who was Mr Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary when he was foreign secretary, have also reportedly joined the operation.
The team’s operation is believed to be separate from the government whips’ office own survey of MPs.
‘They are doing things the whips couldn’t do without arousing suspicion and panic,’ a source told The Times.
The Prime Minister’s team reportedly believe they have the support of around 300 of the 359 Conservative MPs, as concerns increase of a no-confidence vote.
Conservative Party rules allow MPs to force a vote of no confidence in their leader.
The vote is triggered if 15 per cent of Tory MPs – or 54 MPs – send letters to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.
Mr Johnson is believed to be using the group of ministers who helped him to win the 2019 leadership contest, including Grant Shapps (pictured), to record the stance of every Tory MP
It comes after rebel Tories have threatened to release a secret recording of Government whips’ allegedly making ‘blackmail’ threats.
Backbenchers pushing for the Prime Minister to be replaced amid Partygate chaos claim to have taped party enforcers attempting to bully MPs, as well as having copies of text messages.
Mr Johnson insisted on Thursday he had ‘seen no evidence’ to support the claim made by Mr Wragg that his critics were facing ‘intimidation’ as part of an effort to prevent him being ousted from office.
They include an incendiary claim from defector Christian Wakeford that he was told finding for a new school in his Bury South constituency would be withheld if he did not back the Government in axing free meals for pupils.
The Times reported that Tory MPs keen to see the back of Mr Johnson have secretly recorded ‘heated’ conversation with the chief whip Mark Spencer, as well as text messages to support the accusations.
However, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng today insisted that he ‘didn’t think this was happening’, saying blackmail threats as alleged would be ‘unacceptable’.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the whips’ job is ‘to persuade people to vote with the Government, as they have done for decades, and they try to do that by a variety of means’.
But he said: ‘The idea that they’ll say to an MP ‘Well, if you don’t vote with the Government then your school or your hospital won’t get the requisite funds’, I think that’s appalling.’
He added: ‘They’re serious allegations, they need to be investigated, and I think there should be consequences if people have been found to behave in that way.
Christian Wakeford (pictured) alleged he was told finding for a new school in his Bury South constituency would be withheld if he didn’t back the Government in axing free meals for pupils
Poll this week suggested Mr Johnson’s popularity ratings have sunk to a similar level as Jeremy Corbyn before the 2019 general election, while Rishi Sunak is being seen more favourably
‘I find it very unlikely myself, but we’re going to have to look into this.’
It comes as Sue Gray, the senior official leading an inquiry into claims of rule-busting gatherings across Government, was said to have found an email warning Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds against holding a drinks party in the No 10 garden during the first lockdown.
The email, sent by a senior official, told Mr Reynolds that the gathering ‘should be cancelled because it broke the rules’, according to ITV News.
Mr Johnson has admitted attending the gathering in question for 25 minutes on May 20 2020, but insisted he believed it was a work event, and that he was not warned it would be against the rules.
The PM has been battling claims that Tory critics are facing ‘intimidation’ which could amount to blackmail as part of an effort to keep him in post.
Mr Wragg said on Thursday he had received reports of conduct including ‘members of staff at 10 Downing Street, special advisers, Government ministers and others encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the Prime Minister’.
‘The intimidation of a Member of Parliament is a serious matter. Reports of which I am aware would seem to constitute blackmail,’ the chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said.
‘As such it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these matters to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.’
But Mr Johnson, on a visit to Taunton, said: ‘I’ve seen no evidence, heard no evidence, to support any of those allegations.’
Meanwhile, Sue Gray (pictured) was said to have found an email warning Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds against holding a drinks party in the No 10 garden
He said he would ‘of course’ look for evidence to support the claims, but No 10 suggested there were no plans to launch an investigation as demanded by Labour.
The Times reported that one Tory MP said they were told by a whip ‘you’re done’ when voting against the Government last year.
The paper also claimed Tory rebels met on Thursday to discuss their next steps.
Mr Wragg is one of a handful of Tory backbenchers to have said publicly they have submitted a letter to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, calling for a no-confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s leadership.
He said the conduct of the Government Whips’ Office threatening to withdraw public funding from MPs’ constituencies may have breached the ministerial code.
Christian Wakeford, the MP who defected from the Tories to Labour in protest at Mr Johnson’s leadership and the row over Downing Street parties, said he was threatened about the loss of a school in his constituency if he did not toe the line.
The Metropolitan Police said they would consider any complaints made to officers.
‘As with any such allegations, should a criminal offence be reported to the Met, it would be considered,’ a spokesman said.
On the reports Ms Gray had found an email warning Mr Reynolds against holding a Downing Street drinks party, No 10 said it would not comment on the process of the ongoing investigation.
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