TORY donors who have given the party more than £18 million in recent years have pleaded with MPs not to vote against Boris Johnson in Monday night's confidence ballot.
The desperate letter from 23 loaded supporters branded rebels "foolish" and says Johnson has their "unwavering support".
It claims throughout the pandemic, Johnson took the "tough but necessary" decisions, helped to save lives, and ensured "our great nation is able to thrive again".
The 23 also said he "got the big calls right" and insisted he was the right man to lead the country.
The letter, published by The Sun on Monday, states: "On Covid-19 the Prime Minister got the big calls right. We believe that under Labour we would have been locked down longer.
"And as our Ukrainian friends faced the wrath of Putin's illegal and appalling invasion, it was our Prime Minister who stood by President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people by sending over £1.3 billion of military support.
"Thanks to the actions of this Conservative Government, the British economy is leading the way. The number of employees on payrolls is a record high, unemployment is at the lowest rate since 1974 and we recorded the fastest economic growth in the G7 last year.
"Yes, there are many challenges ahead, but wasting months of precious time on leadership challenges would be foolish - and, in our view, would not be forgiven by the British people.
"This country needs leadership and answers now - and our Prime Minister is the best person to do that job. We need to let him get on with it."
Big names including billionaire JCB boss Lord Bamford, property magnate Sir Tony Gallagher, and Carphone Wearhouse founder David Ross have signed the letter.
Other names include multimillionaire financier Howard Shore.
It comes after 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady confirmed on Monday morning he had received the 54 no confidence letters required to trigger a vote.
Johnson wrote a three-page letter to MPs himself to beg for their support in a secret ballot that will be held between 6pm and 8pm on Monday.
Polling by Opinium has found 59% of people think MPs should vote against the Prime Minister while 28% think they should vote to keep him.
A total of 71% think Boris Johnson is untrustworthy, 65% feel he is incompetent and 55% dislike him.
