Will Brexiteers’ Pizza plot topple Mrs May?

THERESA MAY’s future as British Prime Minister could be decided tomorrow evening over boxes of takeaway pizzas in a historic room deep in the bowels of Parliament.

Pro-Brexit Cabinet Ministers will assemble in the office behind the Speaker’s Chair to decide whether to accept Theresa May’s latest attempted Brexit deal – or to walk out in protest during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. If they resign en masse, Mrs May’s tenure in Downing Street could be measured in just weeks.

The ‘pizza club’ is chaired by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, who challenged Mrs May for the leadership in 2017, and regulars include International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Pensions Secretary Esther McVey and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling – all staunch Brexiteers.

The club has met secretly during Brexit negotiations to coordinate their approach to Mrs May’s strategy. But with at least three members prepared to quit the cabinet if Mrs May does not agree to set a time limit on the UK’s membership of a customs union at a Brussels summit on Wednesday, tomorrow’s gathering has become critical to Mrs May’s Government’s fate.

As Conservative Party chiefs stepped up preparations for a Christmas general election if Mrs May’s Chequers plan is rejected by MPs, Brexiteers warned that if the PM tries to push through with her plan with the support of Labour, they will table a no-confidence vote.

Brexiteers have been alarmed by signs that Downing Street is rowing back on a commitment that the UK will have cut customs ties with the EU by late 2021. Mrs May has also faced warnings that the DUP could vote down her government’s budget.