His political enemies are circling (and so too are some of his political 'friends') as Boris Johnson remains embroiled in a desperate battle to save his premiership.
More damaging allegations surround the Prime Minister in the wake of 'partygate' allegations - the now infamous 'bring your own booze' gathering in Downing Street during lockdown in May 2020.
Rumours of a 'pork pie plot' continue to grow and attention is turning to the so-called 1922 Committee and the role it could have in the Conservative party leader's future.
Also known as 'the 22, ' this is an influential committee of backbench Conservative MPs that meets every week when the Commons in sitting.
It has significant power within the party and is chaired by a senior MP, elected by committee members, and since 2020 this has been Sir Graham Brady.
Despite having 1922 in its name, it was set up in April 1923 following an initiative by new Conservative MPs elected at the 1922 General Election to improve cooperation within the party.
And it has developed into having a vital role in Tory leadership contests and the committee chair would oversee the process if one is triggered as support falls away from Mr Johnson.
What do 'letters' sent to the 1922 Committee mean?
To trigger a Conservative leadership election, 15 per cent of the party’s MPs - which currently amounts to 54 of the 360 Tory members of the House of Commons - must call for one.
They must do this by sending a letter to the chairman of the 1922 Committee asking for a vote of confidence in the party leader.
In December 2018, this happened to Theresa May. While May won the vote of confidence on that occasion, she indicated to the 1922 Committee the following March that she would stand down as party leader, which she eventually did in June 2019.
Conservative members of the Scottish Parliament, and peers in the House of Lords, do not have a vote in this process as it is open to House of Commons members only.
If a majority of Tory MPs vote to support the Prime Minister in a vote of no confidence, no new vote can be called for another 12 months.
The only other way to trigger a Conservative leadership election is for the incumbent party leader to resign of their own accord.
How do Conservative leadership elections work?
When an incumbent Conservative party leader loses a vote of no confidence and a leadership election is triggered, potential candidates will put themselves forward.
The 1922 Committee's chairman will draw up a timetable for the election and lay down the rules. Candidates will seek nominations from their fellow Tory MPs, but if they don’t meet the threshold specified by the 1922 Committee chairman they won’t go any further.
A series of ballots will then be held among Conservative members of the House of Commons until only two candidates are left standing.
These two candidates will then go forward to a vote among rank-and-file Tory party members. This election will be conducted on a ‘one member, one vote’ basis.
Local Conservative parties cannot initiate a contest for the party leadership, though they can exert pressure in other ways.
Before 1998, Conservative leaders were elected solely by their parliamentary colleagues, but the party’s rules were changed by William Hague. The first party leader to be elected under the current system was Iain Duncan Smith, in 2001. He was deposed just over two years later.
What happens today?
Beleaguered Boris Johnson is to be quizzed by MPs today during Prime Minister's Questions as controversy builds after various 'partygate' allegations.
Mr Johnson will face questions from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at noon as pressure continues to grow on the embattled Prime Minister over a 'bring your own booze' gathering in Downing Street in May 2020.
His former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, who worked in Downing Street until November 2020, has alleged the Prime Minister knew about a “bring your own booze” gathering held in Downing Street in May 2020.
Asked if he had lied to Parliament over the parties as he visited a north London hospital, Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “No. I want to begin by repeating my apologies to everybody for the misjudgements that I’ve made, that we may have made in No 10 and beyond, whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic.
“Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules, that the event in question was something that… was not a work event, and as I said in the House of Commons when I went out into that garden I thought that I was attending a work event.”
Downing Street denied that Mr Johnson lied to Parliament but seemed to accept it would be a resigning matter if he “knowingly” misled the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The guidance is clear, the ministerial code is very clear on this point when it comes to knowingly misleading the House and the Prime Minister abides by that, and we fully support it.”
