Between three and seven letters of no confidence were withdrawn on Wednesday night by Conservative MPs apprehensive about booting Boris Johnson out of Number 10.

       Senior sources in the government whips' office told The Telegraph they knew of three no confidence letters in Mr Johnson that had been submitted to Sir Graham Brady, the 1922 committee chairman, and then withdrawn.

       A former government minister and senior Tory MP not seen as an ally of Mr Johnson said he knew of seven letters being withdrawn.

       Conservative MPs are entitled to submit letters and then withdraw them under the arcane rules that govern the 1922 committee.

       The turning point appears to have been the decision of the former Tory MP Christian Wakeford to defect to Labour, which brought some disaffected MPs in from the cold. One told The Telegraph: "Wakeford has saved Boris."

       Mr Wakeford, the MP for Bury South who was elected in 2019, crossed the floor in a dramatic intervention minutes before Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

       A number of Conservatives withdrawing their letters later that day suggests his defection focused minds amid a public backlash from other members of the 2019 intake of "Red Wall" MPs to Mr Wakeford's decision.

       Tory MPs felt "complete and utter disgust" at Mr Wakeford's defection, Jonathan Gullis told Sky News.

       Mr Gullis said the "hope" was that colleagues would withdraw their letters to Sir Graham, but clarified he had not spoken to anyone who had done this.

       However, Mr Johnson has still not passed the danger point of the "partygate" scandal, with many Tories saying they are awaiting the publication of the report into the saga by civil servant Sue Gray.

       Dehenna Davison - another "Red Wall" Tory MP - told The Telegraph that rumours in Westminster suggesting she might be the next to defect to Labour were "complete bull----".