Fears Partygate report 'will be worse than thought' for Boris

Boris Johnson is tearing up his diary to woo mutinous MPs amid fears the Sue Gray report into Partygate will be worse than thought, it was claimed today.

The PM has fended off an initial coup bid from so-called 'Pork Pie' plotters, but even supporters admit that his fate hangs on the conclusions of the top civil servant - expected next week.

Allies hope that Ms Gray will stop short of condemning Mr Johnson personally, despite him having attended a 'BYOB' bash in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. But the mood music in Whitehall is said to be 'darkening' as Ms Gray gathers more evidence. 

The premier is due to have more meetings with restive backbenchers over the weekend as he braces for the next phase of his survival struggle.  

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford turned the screw this morning by accusing Mr Johnson of lifting Covid restrictions to get the scandal out of the headlines.

But Foreign Secretary Liz Truss - a potential successor - has lined up behind the premier, insisting he is doing an 'excellent job'. And Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he did not believe it is inevitable Mr Johnson will quit. 

Meanwhile, on another front, rebel Tories considering publishing a secret recording and messages from government whips to back up allegations of brutal intimidation tactics. 

Ms Truss, who is currently on a visit to Australia, dismissed the prospect of Mr Johnson quitting when grilled by reporters.

She replied: 'The Prime Minister has my 100 per cent support. He is doing an excellent job. Britain was one of the first countries to roll out the Covid vaccine.

'We've had a very successful booster programme. We're now able to open up our economy again in Britain and we've got one of the fastest-growing economies in the G7.

'And the reason that we are here in Australia is working with our very close partners, to advance freedom and democracy around the world, and to protect our country.

'I want the Prime Minister to continue as long as possible in his job. He is doing a fantastic job. There is no leadership election.'

Whitehall sources said the Prime Minister had torn up his diary to talk with wobbling MPs ahead of the expected publication of the Gray report next week.

Some MPs will be seen one to one while others will be asked to discuss their concerns with the PM in small groups.

Sources believe similar meetings earlier this week helped to defuse the threat of the 'Pork Pie Plot' coup by Red Wall MPs.

Mr Johnson will urge MPs to 'look at the bigger picture', most notably the success of his strategy for dealing with the emergence of the Omicron strain, which is seeing the UK emerge from Covid restrictions faster than other European countries.

But one senior Tory said the earlier sessions were not a complete success, with the PM unwilling to guarantee no more damaging revelations will come out.

The source said Mr Johnson had pleaded with Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, to retract a letter of no confidence sent to Tory shop steward Sir Graham Brady, only for Mr Anderson to refuse. 

The Tory rebels were branded 'attention-seeking schoolchildren' by cabinet ministers after falling short in a push to gather enough letters of no confidence to trigger a vote on Mr Johnson's future. 

They have been dubbed the 'Pork Pie plotters, as a key meeting took place in the office of Alice Kearns, MP for Melton Mowbray. 

But the government is facing a furious backlash at alleged dirty tricks by the whips, with claims MPs were threatened with funding being axed from their constituencies.

Mr Johnson's allies have also been accused of smearing rebels by releasing unsubstantiated claims about their drinking habits and personal lives in the press. The claims have been denied by No 10.

According to the Times, the group of Tory rebels met yesterday to discuss their next move. 

'They were comparing notes and discussing whether or not to make public texts and other evidence they have from the whips,' a source close to the group said. 

'One member has recorded a heated conversation that they had with the chief whip.'

The material could be released to the press or the public in a move that could humiliate the PM after he denied that any of the rebels had been 'blackmailed' into supporting him.  

One rebel told the Telegraph: 'We want the Chief Whip's head on a spike.' 

However,

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