Two years after the Brexit vote, UK and European Union negotiators finally broke the deadlock to conclude a draft withdrawal agreement on Tuesday. Following months of trying to resolve the Irish border issue, both the UK and EU have devised a working solution for the backstop, the insurance policy to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. In a bid to get a Brexit deal agreed with the Brussels bloc, the Prime Minister may have signed up to the possibility of a permanent customs union with the EU, unless a better deal is reached within two years. But furious eurosceptic MPs have hit back, with Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski warning that Mrs May’s attempts to bring the whole country together will result in neither Brexiteers or Remainers getting what they want or expect out of Brexit.

Mr Kawczynski told Express.co.uk: “I understand there needs to be a compromise. But I think this compromise is a step too far into the Remainer camp whereby the compromise is such that the European Union will continue to dictate the laws in this country. “That’s simply unacceptable. That is not what the British people voted for.” Mr Kawczynski said once he gets to view the agreed deal, he will be “pouring over the details” and consider whether it is a deal his electorate are prepared to swallow. Ross Thomson, Scottish Tory MP for Aberdeen South, also said: “We have not yet seen the detail, but if what we have heard is true, then I would find it completely unacceptable.

“I am a Unionist and I fought head, heart and soul to stop the SNP breaking up the UK in 2014. “We cannot have a situation where Northern Ireland diverges from the rest of the UK. “That would fundamentally undermine our Union, and I could not support it.” Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen has called for Theresa May to “see sense”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight, Mr Bridgen said: “This is not going to go through Parliament.

“So, there is no point bringing that vote when it is going to fail. If it passes through the Cabinet then it will have to go through Parliament and I honestly believe all this discussion about whether the EU 27 think it is giving away too much – that is pure theatre. “This is a sell-out and is a betrayal of the Brexit we promised the British people and I will not be voting for it.” Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has also ridiculed the agreement and said: "For the first time in a thousand years, this place, this Parliament, will not have a say over the laws that govern this country. It is a quite incredible state of affairs." Prominent Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg added: "White flags have gone up all over Whitehall. It is a betrayal of the Union."</s>The prominent backbencher made the shock revelation during an appearance on BBC’s Newsnight on Tuesday evening. A vote of confidence in Mrs May’s leadership will be held if 48 Conservative MPs send letters to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee group of backbench Tory MPs, objecting to her leadership. Only Sir Graham know how many letters have been submitted so far.

“But there comes a point at which the policy and the individual become so intimately connected that it would be very hard to carry on promoting the person who is promoting this policy.” The BBC’s Emily Maitlis asked Mr Rees-Mogg whether he would be submitted a no-confidence letter “in the next 24 hours”. He responded: “Not in the next 24 hours”.

A draft Brexit deal was agreed by UK and EU negotiators last night, which will go to Cabinet for approval at 2pm this afternoon. Whilst some of the details are yet to be confirmed the deal reportedly includes a 21-month transition period which will come into effect after the UK formally leaves the EU on March 29 2019, during which the UK will remain closely tied to Brussels. If a deal on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU can’t be reached during this period Britain will automatically fall into a customs union relationship with Europe. Crucially this will be UK wide, including Northern Ireland, removing the need for a border down the Irish Sea, though the deal may suggest different rules and regulations for Northern Ireland angering unionists.

Mr Rees-Mogg was fiercely critical of these proposals on Newsnight stating: “It’s completely incompetent and it’s not what we were promised. “This deal is so bad it’s hard to think of anything that could be worse.” This view of the 500 page withdrawal agreement was shared by former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. He commented: “It will mean that we are having to accept rules and regulations from Brussels over which we have absolutely no say ourselves. “It is utterly unacceptable to anyone who believes in democracy.”</s>Theresa May’s Tory Brexit critics claim they will soon have the 48 letters from Conservative MPs needed to force a vote of confidence in her.

They believe that she would lose, be replaced by Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg and all of Britain’s Brexit problems would be solved.

Others say they are living in a fantasy world, it would solve nothing and risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into power.

Under Conservative Party rules, if 15 per cent of its current 317 MPs – 48 – write to Graham Brady, chairman of the party’s backbench 1922 Committee, calling for a vote of no confidence in the leader, a contest must take place.

He will not say how many letters he has received, prompting some of Mrs May’s critics to claim he is ‘sitting on them’ out of loyalty. In theory, she needs to win a simple majority, 159, to survive. But it is not that simple. When her predecessor John Major was challenged by John Redwood in 1995, he won by 218 to 89. But most agreed if Redwood had scored 100, Major would have been finished.

Despite Iain Duncan Smith’s fighting talk that her ‘days are numbered,’ it will not be easy for IDS and his European Research Group Brexiteer Tories to get her out. It is made up of around 80 Conservative MPs.

If Mrs May lost, or failed to win by enough to cling on, a leadership battle would ensue.

Johnson, Rees-Mogg, David Davis and Penny Mordaunt would be likely to throw their hats in the ring on ‘hard Brexit’ platforms with Cabinet big-hitters Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt offering stability and ‘Remainers’ Amber Rudd, Justine Greening and possibly Boris’s brother Jo, standing with no real hope of winning, but determined to fly the pro-EU flag. The MPs would whittle the candidates down to two – with a final vote by all Tory members.

Davis could capitalise on Tory MPs’ mistrust of Johnson. One or the other could face Javid or Hunt in the party membership play off.

There is one issue that unites Conservative MPs at present: fear of another General Election. However, some of Boris Johnson’s supporters say that if he became Prime Minister, he could call a snap election on a ‘no deal’ Brexit manifesto, and if he won, make a Churchillian stand against Brussels with the nation – and a Parliamentary majority solidly behind him.

There is one problem with this: when Mrs May called a snap election last year she very nearly handed the No.10 key to Corbyn.

And Conservative MPs and voters fear that more than any – or no –Brexit deal. The Tory leadership tangle was summed up by Paul Goodman, editor of the influential ConservativeHome website.

He said: ‘Having a leadership contest could present more problems than it solves for the Party.’ However, he offered little comfort to Mrs May: ‘It is easy to say Tories calling for her to go are like the boy who cried wolf. In the end, the wolf came.’

CAN Theresa May get the votes to pass her Brexit deal through Parliament? PM could need the support of more than FIFTY hardcore Tory Brexiteers AND Labour rebels
• If Theresa May gets Cabinet backing her deal will have to go to Parliament
• She can only be certain of around 230 votes but needs to get 318 MPs in favour
• PM needs to squeeze Tory rebels, win over the DUP and get some Labour votes

Theresa May has secured her deal in Brussels but her fight to get it actually in place in time for Brexit day is just beginning.

If the Cabinet agrees to the deal the biggest hurdle will be the 'meaningful vote' on the plans in Parliament.

This is expected to take place in December to ensure the deal is over its biggest hurdle before the end of the year.

The Prime Minister needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up - but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.

The number is less than half because the four Speakers, 7 Sinn Fein MPs and four tellers will not take part.

To win, Mrs May will need to get back around half of the 80 hardcore Tory Brexiteer rebels and secure the support of the 10 DUP MPs.

Even then she will probably still need the help of dozens of Labour MPs to save her deal and possibly her job.

This is how the House of Commons might break down:

Who are they: All members of the Government are the so-called 'payroll' vote and are obliged to follow the whips orders or resign. It includes the Cabinet, all junior ministers, the whips and unpaid parliamentary aides.

How many of them are there? About 150.

What do they want? For the Prime Minister to survive, get her deal and reach exit day with the minimum of fuss.

Many junior ministers want promotion while many of the Cabinet want to be in a position to take the top job when Mrs May goes.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Who are they? Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG counts Boris Johnson, David Davis and other former ministers including Steve Baker and Iain Duncan Smith.

How many of them are there? Estimates vary on how many members it has. It secured 62 signatures on a letter to the PM in February while Mr Baker has claimed the group has a bloc of 80 Tory MPs willing to vote against May's plans.

The group's deputy leader Mark Francois said today there were at least 40 hard liners who would vote against the deal in all circumstances.

What do they want? The ERG has said Mrs May should abandon her plans for a unique trade deal and instead negotiate a 'Canada plus plus plus' deal.

This is based on a trade deal signed between the EU and Canada in August 2014 that eliminated 98 per cent of tariffs and taxes charged on goods shipped across the Atlantic.

The EU has long said it would be happy to do a deal based on Canada - but warn it would only work for Great Britain and not Northern Ireland.

The ERG say the model can be adapted to work for the whole UK. They say Northern Ireland can be included by using technology on the Irish border to track goods and make sure products which don't meet EU rules do not enter the single market.

They also say it would give complete freedom for Britain to sign new trade deals around the world to replace any losses in trade with the EU.

The group is content to leave the EU without a deal if Brussels will not give in.

How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.

Moderates in the Brexit Delivery Group (BDG) and other Loyalists

Who are they? A newer group, the BDG counts members from across the Brexit divide inside the Tory Party. It includes former minister Nick Boles and MPs including Remainer Simon Hart and Brexiteer Andrew Percy.

There are also many unaligned Tory MPs who are desperate to talk about anything else.

How many of them are there? There are thought to be around 50 members in the BDG, with a few dozen other MPs loyal to the Prime Minister

What do they want? The BDG prioritises delivering on Brexit and getting to exit day on March 29, 2019, without destroying the Tory Party or the Government. If the PM gets a deal the group will probably vote for it.

It is less interested in the exact form of the deal but many in it have said Mrs May's Chequers plan will not work.

Mr Boles has set out a proposal for Britain to stay in the European Economic Area (EEA) until a free trade deal be negotiated - effectively to leave the EU but stay in close orbit as a member of the single market.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Who are they? A handful of about five Tory MPs - mostly former ministers - who never supported Brexit and think the failure of politicians to get a deal means Parliament should hand it back to the people. The group includes Anna Soubry, Dominic Grieve and Justine Greening.

What do they want instead? A so-called People's Vote. The exact timing still needs to be sorted out but broadly, the group wants the Article 50 process postponed and a second referendum scheduled.

This would take about six months from start to finish and they group wants Remain as an option on the ballot paper, probably with Mrs May's deal as the alternative.

There are established pro-Remain campaigns born out of the losing Britain Stronger in Europe campaign from 2016. It is supported by Tony Blair, the Liberal Democrats and assorted pro-EU politicians outside the Tory party.

How will they vote? Hard to say for sure. Probably with the Prime Minister if the only other option was no deal.

Who are they? The Northern Ireland Party signed up to a 'confidence and supply' agreement with the Conservative Party to prop up the Government.

They are Unionist and say Brexit is good but must not carve Northern Ireland out of the Union.

How many of them are there? 10.

What do they want? A Brexit deal that protects Northern Ireland inside the UK.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister if the deal breaches the red line, with the Prime Minister if she can persuade them it does not. The group currently says No.

Who are they? Labour MPs who are loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and willing to follow his whipping orders.

How many of them are there? Between 210 and 240 MPs depending on exactly what Mr Corbyn orders them to do.

What do they want? Labour policy is to demand a general election and if the Government refuses, 'all options are on the table', including a second referendum.

Labour insists it wants a 'jobs first Brexit' that includes a permanent customs union with the EU. It says it is ready to restart negotiations with the EU with a short extension to the Article 50 process.

The party has six tests Mrs May's deal must pass to get Labour votes.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister's current deal.

Who are they? A mix of MPs totally opposed to Mr Corbyn's leadership, some Labour Leave supporters who want a deal and some MPs who think any deal will do at this point.

How many of them are there? Up to 45 but possibly no more than 20 MPs.

What do they want? An orderly Brexit and to spite Mr Corbyn.

How will they vote? With the Prime Minister.

Who are they? The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Caroline Lucas and assorted independents.

How many of them are there? About 60 MPs.

How will they vote? Mostly against the Prime Minister - though two of the independents are suspended Tories and two are Brexiteer former Labour MPs.</s>Brexit supporters will ‘likely’ call for a vote of no confidence in her as their leader tomorrow, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said, citing a senior member of the Conservative Party.

She said Brexiteers were so angry about May’s draft deal to leave the European Union that they were submitting letters to the head of a committee of Conservative lawmakers responsible for handling any leadership challenge.

‘Senior Tory (Conservative) tells me Brexiteer anger so high that seems likely there will be a call for no-confidence vote tomorrow – letters going in,’ she said on Twitter.

If 48 letters are sent to the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, this will trigger a showdown.

At the moment it is not clear how many have been sent, but anger is growing at what has been described as a ‘worst of both worlds’ Brexit.

Leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has previously held back from calling for Mrs May’s removal, said yesterday that ‘there comes a point at which the policy and the individual become so intimately connected that it will be very hard to carry on supporting the person who is promoting this policy’.

Tensions were heightened by reports that senior Brussels negotiator Sabine Weyand had told ambassadors the deal will mean the UK aligns its rules with Europe, while the EU ‘will retain all the controls’.

Speaking in the Commons, leading Brexiteer Peter Bone told the PM: ‘If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate, you will not be delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country.’

The deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tories, Mark Francois, said Cabinet ministers should ‘look into their hearts and decide whether a Jaguar and a red box and a bunch of sycophantic civil servants calling you ‘Minister’ is more important than the destiny of your country’.

Leave-backing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘This isn’t Brexit, it’s not even close to Brexit.

‘If it were darts, it’s not missing the board, this is not even the right wall.’</s>Theresa May is fighting to keep her party together after multiple senior ministers, including Dominic Raab and Esther McVey, resigned yesterday amid her proposed Brexit deal. Since the draft was presented a number of Conservative party members have handed in a letter of no confidence in Mrs May. Among Tories to hand in the letter to the chair of the 1922 Committee is Jacob Rees-Mogg, a move that could eventually lead to a Conservative party leadership challenge.

The MP brought parliament to silence when he questioned the PM on Thursday, and told her directly in the House Commons he would submit the letter. Along with Mr Rees-Mogg, at least 15 other MPs, including Peter Bone, Philip Davies, Andrea Jenkyns, Nadine Dorries, Andrew Bridgen and Simon Clarke, have also submitted no confidence letters. And speculation is now mounting Conservative MPs have the number of letters they need to trigger a vote of confidence in the prime minister, as sources are claiming 48 letters have now been submitted. But MPs who are standing firm with the prime minister have warned that a coup would destroy the government, plunge the economy into peril and halt any chance of a fair deal for Brexit altogether.

What happens in a vote of no confidence? For the Tories to be able to trigger a vote of no confidence, 15 percent of MPs would need to write letters demanding a confidence vote to the chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. The Conservatives currently have 315 MPs in Government and would need 48 letters written from individual members for a vote to be called. If a confidence vote is triggered, all Conservative MPs can vote.

Should such a vote be called, the ballots will be cast as soon as possible under Conservative rules. And if Mrs May loses, a leadership contest will take place to decide her replacement. Sometimes several candidates put themselves forward, and in this case, a secret vote is held among the Tory MPs where in the first round the candidates with the fewest votes are removed. Conservative lawmakers then vote again until they have their new party leader and prime minister.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May’s position as leader of the Conservative Party - and consequently her premiership - is under threat, with media reporting that some lawmakers who are unhappy with the draft Brexit deal she has reached with the European Union are taking steps to call a confidence vote.

Below is an explanation of how May could face a leadership challenge under Conservative Party rules:

- WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR THERE TO BE A LEADERSHIP CONTEST?

A challenge is triggered if 15 percent of the Conservative members of parliament (MPs) write letters demanding a confidence vote to the chairman of the party’s “1922 Committee”, which represents lawmakers who have no government jobs.

The Conservatives have 315 MPs, so 48 would need to write such letters for a vote to be called.

- COULD THIS HAPPEN TO MAY?

Some eurosceptic MPs have publicly said they have submitted such letters in protest at her Brexit negotiating strategy. The number voicing concern rose on Wednesday after media reports of what the draft deal included.

However, the 1922 Committee’s chairman, Graham Brady, is the only person who knows how many have actually submitted letters, including those who have written to him confidentially.

Last month, Brady was reported as saying that some MPs claim to have submitted letters when, in fact, they have not.

- WHAT HAPPENS DURING A CONFIDENCE VOTE?

All Conservative MPs can vote for or against their leader. If May wins, she remains in office and cannot be challenged again for 12 months. If she loses, she must resign and is barred from standing in the leadership election that follows.

- HOW QUICKLY CAN A VOTE TAKE PLACE?

Under Conservative rules, the vote is held as soon as possible, on a date decided by the 1922 Committee chairman in consultation with the party leader.

The last no-confidence vote against a Conservative leader, when the party was in opposition in 2003, was held the day after the Committee chairman announced he had received enough letters.

- WHAT HAPPENS IF MAY LOSES?

There will be a leadership contest to decide her replacement. Her replacement will become prime minister, but a general election will not automatically be triggered.

If several candidates come forward, a secret vote is held among Conservative MPs to whittle down the field. The candidate with the fewest votes is removed and Conservative lawmakers vote again. The process is repeated, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, until only two candidates remain.

These two candidates are then put to a postal ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership. Participants need to have been party members for more than three months.

When David Cameron decided to step down as prime minister and Conservative leader after the EU referendum in 2016, five candidates came forward. The field was narrowed to May and then-junior minister Andrea Leadsom, but she pulled out before members voted, leaving May to become leader unopposed.

- WHO COULD REPLACE MAY?

The list of possible replacements is long, but there is no clear frontrunner. Many of those expected to run used the Conservative Party’s annual conference last month to set out their platform and priorities for any leadership bid.</s>When Theresa May delivered her statement in the dusk outside Downing Street on Wednesday night, she may have already known a storm was gathering. After the five-hour cabinet meeting, the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, had told the chief whip he would resign. Raab retreated to his office in No 9 Downing Street as May told the cameras that “the choices before us were difficult”.

Raab had told the chief whip, Julian Smith, at the end of the meeting that he was minded to go. Ministers had shared a glass of wine after the stormy discussion. It was later into the night that he spoke directly to the prime minister.

Early on Thursday morning, Raab phoned May to confirm his decision and then tweeted his letter. The dam was truly broken after Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, also resigned. DExEU’s Suella Braverman followed Raab out the door just before 10.30, tailed by two parliamentary private secretaries and a Tory vice-chair.

Downing Street officials hinted that resignations had been priced in. “We’re having to confront some very difficult issues and she doesn’t shy away from that,” one said. Asked if a new Brexit secretary was planned at all, a No 10 official shrugged and said “suspect so, yes”.

May arrived in the House of Commons flanked by two cabinet ministers said to be teetering on the edge of their own departures, Andrea Leadsom and Penny Mordaunt.

Though her tone was forthright as she addressed MPs, May’s ministers clearly had jitters. At one point, the chancellor, Philip Hammond, turned in horror as he saw all of the reporters rush out of the press gallery above the chamber.

That scene also spooked the Labour MP Mary Creagh, who tweeted that it seemed a “leadership coup” was imminent. In fact, journalists were heading to a scheduled briefing with the prime minister’s spokesman.

May’s replies grew more terse as the statement dragged into its second hour. The Labour MP Mike Gapes bluntly asked the prime minister if it was time for her to stand aside. “No,” she replied, to a half-hearted cheer.

Labour’s Chris Leslie asked Tory MPs to put up their hands if they supported the prime minister. Instead, Tory grandee Nicholas Soames flicked his fingers into a V in Leslie’s direction.

And then the rupture of her cabinet was followed by perhaps an even greater threat, not just to her deal but to her premiership. It began with a letter of no confidence from Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chair of the European Research Group, and one of her most influential critics.

May was still on her feet in the marathon Commons session when Rees-Mogg gave his letter to Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, who keeps track of whether the threshold of 48 MPs has been reached in order to trigger a contest.

“When Jacob and Steve [Baker] go public, that’s a big deal,” one Eurosceptic MP said. “They have a lot of influence with people who have held back, on Jacob’s advice.”

Blinking at the mass of cameras in his neat double-breasted suit, Rees-Mogg seemed deeply affronted at the suggestion he was launching a coup. Everything was perfectly above board, he insisted.

He was sanguine about his chances of toppling the prime minister with his letter of no confidence. But allies said he would not have made his move without being confident of success.

Friends said Rees-Mogg had spent the night reading the details of the withdrawal agreement after the cabinet broke up and decided he was all-but-certain to submit his letter overnight. The announcement was made at a hastily-convened ERG meeting in a parliamentary committee room.

Afterwards, in a perfectly choreographed piece of theatre, cameras were alerted to where the backbencher would give his verdict, outside the St Stephen’s entrance of parliament – the same site where May was declared to have won the Tory leadership two-and-a-half years ago.

Banging and cheers from Tory Eurosceptics in the room signalled that news was imminent, and as Rees-Mogg made his way out of the room, reporters formed a straight-jacket around him, tiptoeing backwards down the stone steps and almost colliding with busts of former prime ministers.

“We’re getting into a bit of a bottleneck, like the negotiations,” Rees-Mogg joked as he headed outside, surrounded by the media scrum.

It was not a tsunami but it was a steady drip after Rees-Mogg showed his hand. Baker, the former Brexit minister, revealed he had sent his letter in October. “It is too late. We need a new leader,” he said.

The backbencher Simon Clarke, leaving the ERG meeting, said he had written to Brady – again. Clarke had withdrawn his first letter with great fanfare before the summer recess, but on Thursday re-submitted it.

The former Tory vice-chair Ben Bradley admitted that he too had sent a letter in October. “Since I resigned in July it’s often been frustrating that so many colleagues who share my view remain in government and keep quiet,” he said. “Honestly the only way we’re going to change it is if the people who disagree all speak up.”

Several sources said they believed 10 letters had been submitted that afternoon. “For a prime minister, what really matters is that MPs trust you and your word,” one Brexiter source said.

“That is why people are unhappy. They think things are hidden away in documents, or vague language is being used to cover up what is really going on. And they get found out.”

Yet other Tory colleagues were publicly angry at the displays of disloyalty. “It’s obscene, it’s pure ambition,” one said. The MP Simon Hart called the scene “an embarrassment”.

The foreign office minister Alistair Burt, a keen remain supporter, barely concealed his fury as he passed the room where the ERG meeting was held. “We are working our socks off and they are doing everything they can to detonate it,” he said.

It was not a day of complete disaster. Leadsom, a leading figure in Vote Leave, later confirmed she would not quit. Her resignation as leader of the House of Commons would have plunged government preparations for the vote on the deal into further chaos.

Allies said she was still wrestling with her decision and had not had her fears assuaged. She hoped, friends said, that there were still changes that could be made as the threat of a parliamentary defeat edged nearer.

Mordaunt’s position was less certain and the international development secretary went to Downing Street twice to press May to allow a free vote on the final deal, an idea even Brexiters said they believed was far-fetched.

Most mysterious was the absence of Michael Gove, the environment secretary. His allies were tight-lipped, though rumours swirled that he was mulling whether to accept the position of Brexit secretary – or to follow colleagues out of the door.

May called a rare press conference at Downing Street at 5pm, where instead of delivering anything new, doubled down on her determination to fight on.

There was a moment when a shockwave went round the room, as May opened with a reflection on the challenges and responsibilities of great public office. But it quickly evaporated when she moved on to the more familiar territory: defending her deal as the best on offer.

May, a cricket fan, was asked at what stage she would resign as captain of the team. She replied: “You might recall that one of my cricketing heroes was always Geoffrey Boycott and what do you know about Geoffrey Boycott? He stuck to it and he got the runs in the end.”

Afterwards, one Brexiter quipped that the prime minister was more like the knight in Monty Python, insisting she had “a flesh wound” when her limbs were missing.

Her critics have predicted that a leadership challenge would be confirmed within days. But the only man in the UK who knows just how close the prime minister was to the edge did not seem to be unduly concerned.

In the afternoon, a relaxed-looking Brady wandered through the courtyard of Portcullis House, which houses MPs’ offices, insisting that he had nothing momentous planned.</s>Jacob Rees-Mogg denied on Thursday that he was mounting a “coup” against Theresa May as he called for her to quit.

The chairman of the European Research Group said he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mrs May in a press conference outside Parliament as the Prime Minister was defending her deal in the House of Commons.

It came at the end of a dramatic morning when four ministers – including the Brexit secretary Dominic Raab - two ministerial aides and a party vice chairman quit over Mrs May’s Brexit deal.

For many observers it marked the day the dam broke in Westminster for dozens of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs who had been fiercely critical of Mrs May’s Brexit policy in private finally...</s>A total of 40 MPs in Britain’s Conservative Party have agreed to sign a letter of no confidence in PM Theresa May, according to a report. The figure still comes up short of the 48 needed to force a new leadership vote.

 Prominent Brexit hardliner Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg submitted the letter to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, requesting a no-confidence vote in Theresa May. Rees-Mogg, who rejected May’s Brexit deal just moments after it was published on Wednesday night, told reporters ‘this is nothing to do with personal ambition’.

 May has been under pressure in her party following a snap general election on June 8 in which the Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament.

 May’s administration has also been criticized for its handling of negotiations with Brussels to leave the European Union. Critics noted that after six rounds of talks with the EU, little progress has been made on clarifying touchy issues.</s>Theresa May is braced for a furious backlash from Tory Brexiteers as she presents her deal on Britain’s EU withdrawal to the Commons.

The Prime Minister cleared the first hurdle when Cabinet ministers finally approved the draft terms of her agreement with Brussels at a stormy five-hour meeting on Wednesday.

But she now faces a battle to get it through Parliament as pro-Leave Conservative MPs – as well as some Remainers – lined up to condemn the plan, accusing her of breaking promises and leaving the UK at the mercy of Brussels.

Following the release of the 585-page agreement document, Jacob Rees-Mogg – the leader of the pro-Brexit European Research Group – wrote to all Tory MPs urging them to vote against it.

Rumours continued to swirl at Westminster that the tally of Conservative MPs who have submitted letters of no confidence in Mrs May is about to reach the 48 threshold needed to trigger a vote on her position.

Mr Rees-Mogg said that he was not among those MPs who had written to the chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, but suggested he could be ‘very close’ to doing so.

‘Certainly this has dented my confidence,’ he told ITV’s Peston programme. ‘Politics depends on trust and this document is shattering to trust.’

While the Cabinet agreed to collectively support the agreement, there was speculation that some ministers were so unhappy that they could still quit in protest.

Reports suggested as many as a third of the 28 ministers attending the meeting in No 10 voiced doubts about the deal.

Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s former chief of staff, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Parliament will ‘surely’ reject the proposal.

‘The proposal presented to Cabinet is a capitulation,’ he wrote.

‘Worse, it is a capitulation not only to Brussels but to the fears of the British negotiators themselves, who have shown by their actions that they never believed Brexit could be a success.

‘This includes, I say with the heaviest of hearts, the Prime Minister.’

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey was said to be particularly upset amid reports she was shouted down after she tried to press for the agreement to be put to a vote.

Mrs May described the debate around the Cabinet table as ‘long, detailed and impassioned’, in a clear indication her proposals had come under intense challenge from ministers.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street minutes after the meeting concluded, she acknowledged she faced ‘difficult days ahead’ as she attempts to win round critical MPs.

‘I firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of the United Kingdom,’ she said.

At the same time she warned Brexiteers that if they failed to back her plan they risked ending up with ‘no Brexit at all’.

Chief Whip Julian Smith has said he is confident the Government will get the support of Parliament for the deal.

But with the DUP – whose 10 MPs prop up Mrs May in the Commons – voicing their unhappiness at the agreement, and the prospect of a significant Tory backbench revolt it is hard to see how ministers can make the numbers add up.

Jeremy Corbyn again made clear that Labour was unlikely to come to the Government’s rescue.

‘I don’t believe that the deal that I’ve heard of so far is in the national interest. It doesn’t meet the interests of all parts of Britain, it doesn’t give us a security of our trading relationship with Europe in the future,’ he said.

Meanwhile European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker issued a statement that ‘decisive progress’ had been made, clearing the way for a special summit for leaders of the remaining 27 EU states to give their stamp of approval, probably on November 25.

Senior UK Government officials said the final text of the withdrawal agreement featured important gains for the UK on the so-called backstop arrangements to be implemented if no trade deal can be reached.

The outline political declaration – which will be subject to further negotiation over the coming weeks – expresses an ambition to achieve zero tariffs and no quotas in EU-UK trade, something the officials said no other major economy had achieved.

The facilitated customs arrangements and ‘common rulebook’ proposed in Mrs May’s Chequers plan are replaced by the concept of a ‘sliding scale’ of commitments and market access, which means the UK would not be tied to an off-the-shelf deal of the kind previously offered to countries such as Canada.

Under backstop arrangements designed to keep the Irish border open, if no trade deal is agreed by the end of the transition period in December 2020, a temporary ‘EU-UK single customs territory’ would be established.

This could be terminated only by mutual consent of Brussels and London but each side would be legally bound to make ‘best endeavours’ to bring it to an end by sealing a permanent deal on their future relations.

There will be a provision to allow the two sides to extend the transition to a fixed date rather than activate the backstop.

A five-person arbitration panel, with two representatives of each side and one independent member, will be set up to rule on disputes, with the chair chosen by drawing lots if members cannot agree.
Conservative Party backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg, with the backing of at least a dozen Tory MPs, says he will submit a letter to the chair of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, to trigger a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Theresa May.