New: influential 92 group of Tories meeting on Monday night ‘to discuss the current situation’. They’d likely be the best group to bolster the PM’s position but chances are they’ll conclude that time has passed.
CHIEF WHIP OUT. One MP who witnessed Morton walking past with the Prime Minister’s PPS, tells me: 'She’s as mad as thunder and is saying ‘unbelievable’.'
Tory MPs are going through the voting lobbies right now checking their phones to work out whether they are actually going to lose the whip if they rebel on the fracking motion. I'm told they still haven't heard from party whips. More here
New: I’m told Jeremy Hunt had nothing to do with sacking of Braverman: had a ‘good’ meeting with her yesterday and only heard she’d gone when aide phoned him to tell him. And didn’t know about appointment of Shapps either.
Jeremy Hunt’s statement to the Commons underlined that he is now running the government. This wasn’t just evident from what he said, but from what was happening as he said it.
Mordaunt repeatedly saying there is a very serious reason the PM can’t be in the Commons. Think is going to have to be a bigger one than that she was phoning Zelensky…
Penny Mordaunt will be taking the urgent question asked by Labour - underlines the idea that the Prime Minister is basically just a house sitter in Downing Street.
New: Tobias Ellwood has just had the Tory whip restored this evening. Was removed by Boris Johnson when he didn’t turn up to a vote, still wasn’t returned when Truss took over and now he’s got it back.