MPs' hopes of quiet Christmas run-in are dashed as whips put Tories on high alert for Labour to call no confidence vote
- Chief whip Julian Smith has ordered Tory MPs to be in Westminster next week
- They must be near the Commons until Wednesday night in case Labour attack
- Government fears a motion of no confidence could be tabled at short notice
Tory MPs have been ordered to cancel early Christmas getaways amid fears Labour could try to bring down the Government next week.
Chief Whip Julian Smith has written to the party's MPs telling them they must not leave Westminster until Wednesday night because of concerns about 'opposition tactics'.
A minister revealed that several backbenchers had booked holidays for before Parliament rises for Christmas on Thursday.
Chief Whip Julian Smith (pictured in Downing Street on Monday) has written to the party's MPs telling them they must not leave Westminster until Wednesday night because of concerns about 'opposition tactics'
They told the Mail: 'Some of our MPs had been planning an early getaway because they thought it would be quiet in the Commons, but now they have been forced to cancel their holiday plans.
'The whips are worried that Labour will take advantage and call a confidence motion in the Government if Tory MPs have snuck away for Christmas.'
In an email to all Tory MPs, Mr Smith confirmed that they would be on a 'three line whip' until Wednesday, meaning they must remain available to vote in Parliament.
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He wrote: 'I would like to thank colleagues for your patience and support this week. I would also like to remind you that we must be alive to opposition tactics in the run up to recess.
'We are therefore operating three line whips on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.'
Jeremy Corbyn has been under pressure from his own MPs to table a vote of no confidence in Theresa May.
Tory MPs have been ordered to cancel early Christmas getaways amid fears Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured leaving home on Monday) could try to bring down the Government next week
After the Prime Minister earlier this week confirmed she was pulling the vote on her Brexit deal, dozens of Labour MPs and peers signed a letter to demand Mr Corbyn try to force an election.
The leaders of the Lib Dems and the Scottish and Welsh nationalists also urged him to do his 'duty'.
A motion of no confidence was last successful in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher forced the end of Jim Callaghan's Labour administration.
A Labour Party spokesman said: 'We will put down a motion of no confidence when we judge it most likely to be successful.'
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