The shock move by a previously hard right Conservative was kept secret to the last second by Sir Keir Starmer's inner circle but left MPs on both sides of the House stunned.
Plotters are understood to have set a deadline of Wednesday next week to get the necessary letters to trigger a vote of confidence in Mr Sunak, as the prime minister and senior party figures avoided any direct mention of the defection.
[
add
]
[
|
|
...
]