Is the end near for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson? As of Tuesday night, the potential for an internal rebellion against the party chief was growing as Conservative MPs openly discussed how they might oust Johnson after he gave a disastrous interview claiming not to have lied over Downing Street parties. A string of Conservatives from various ranks and wings of the party said they believed there would be enough letters to trigger a leadership contest — after the publication of the Sue Gray report into allegations of lockdown breaches. At least 54 Tory MPs would need to submit letters to the 1922 Committee chair, Sir Graham Brady, in order to trigger a vote of confidence in Johnson. If such a vote would be triggered and the PM were to lose it, his premiership would come to an abrupt end. With MPs plotting his demise, Johnson emerged from isolation in No. 10 to defend himself against claims from Dominic Cummings, his former aide, that he lied to parliament about believing a garden party in the first lockdown was a work event. The prime minister said “no one warned” him that the May 20, 2020 “bring your own booze” party he attended alongside 30 to 40 staff was against the rules, and confirmed he had given his account of events to Gray — a civil servant in charge of a key report into the gathering at Downing Street. In his interview, Johnson refused several times to rule out resigning and some Tory MPs believe he could agree to step down rather than go through a confidence ballot of the parliamentary party. | 
