his opponents are being forced to decide to jump on his bandwagon or continue to fight him in the race to Downing Street.

Despite Mrs May failing to secure the Commons' backing on her Brexit Deal and ultimately leading to her downfall, she is hell-bent on ensuring the UK does not leave the EU without a deal.

She said she will stay as an MP for Maidenhead after she leaving No10 next month.

A source told the Mail On Sunday: "She made little secret of the fact that she did not want Boris to succeed her, and if you study everything she has said it is clear where she now is on No Deal.

"The best hope is that Boris is bluffing as usual."

Timetable of Tory leadership election which will pick newthree times in the Commons - and was one of her biggest defenders of her deal.

A senior Tory said: "At the end of the day Mrs May believes the only way to leave is with a deal and Rory is the only candidate really sticking to that.

Another ally added: "No one has asked her but she values loyalty, and while he was quick out the traps in saying he wanted to run, Rory spent most of the year defending her."

The Commons contest is predicted to end as soon as Wednesday after two more rounds of votes, and Mr Johnson has been heavily tipped to secure the PM job.

Mr Johnson has managed to win over most of the Brexit-backing ERG group, with Jacob Rees-Mogg, Steve Baker and Mark Francois