Rebel Tory MPs fear Boris Johnson could trigger autumn general election

PM's critics deadly serious' he could go to polls in the next few months to save premiership amid Partygate scandal

Rebel Conservative MPs fear Boris Johnson could gamble on a general election within months in a make-or-break bid to save his premiership - but the party chairman, Oliver Dowden, has privately dismissed the idea as electorally disastrous.

One MP hoping to oust Johnson said they are deadly serious" in their belief that the prime minister could seek to win himself another term by calling a vote this autumn, especially if he manages to buy time in No 10 by winning a confidence vote before the summer.