Brutal crackdown sees 21 Tory MPs have the whip removed

More than 20 Tory MPs face deselection after they rebelled against the government tonight.

Boris Johnson’s chief whip is speaking to the 21 who voted in favour of a move to try to stop a no-deal Brexit and they will be expelled from the party, a spokesman said.

‘The chief whip is speaking to those Tory MPs who did not vote with the government this evening. They will have the Tory whip removed,’ the spokesman from Johnson’s office said.

MPs voted to seize control of the House of Commons agenda tonight, so they could put forward a bill tomorrow aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit. It would force the government to seek an extension to Brexit if no deal is agreed by October 17.

The rebels include Winston Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames, who said he would not stand in the next general election.

He told BBC Two’s Newsnight: ‘I actually won’t stand. I’m not going to stand.’

Tory former minister Sam Gyimah said: ‘It’s never pleasant to vote against your party.

‘We were all individually contacted before the vote by the whips and told we’d have the whip removed if we voted against the motion.

‘It’s a sad moment. I’ve enjoyed being a Conservative Member of Parliament but voting to stop a no-deal was the right thing to do.’

Former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond were among those to lose the Conservative whip as a result of their actions.

Mr Johnson told the House of Commons after he was defeated in his first vote: ‘The consequences of this vote tonight means that Parliament is on the brink of wrecking any deal that we might be able to get in Brussels.

‘It will hand control of the negotiations to the EU.’

He continued: ‘I don’t want an election but if MPs vote tomorrow to stop the negotiations and to compel another pointless delay of Brexit, potentially for years, then that will be the only way to resolve this.

‘I can confirm that tonight we will are tabling a motion under the Fixed-term Parliament Act.’

Moments earlier had MPs voted in favour of allowing a cross-party alliance to take control of the Commons agenda on Wednesday by 328 votes to 301, majority 27.