New reports have come to light that suggests Sir Lindsay Hoyle was lent on ahead of a Commons showdown over Gaza… by the Tory chief whip!
Nearly 70 MPs, more than a tenth of the Commons, have signed a motion proposed by senior Conservative William Wragg expressing no confidence in him after Wednesday’s SNP Opposition Day vote descended into chaos.
Sir Lindsay has apologised for his “mistake” and offered an emergency debate on the Scottish Nationalists’ motion calling for a ceasefire in a bid to calm their fury over their proposal being sidelined.
Suggestions that Labour could have lent on the Speaker before the debate also seem to have gone quiet.
It has, in fact, since emerged that the Tories could have been the ones to have pressured Hoyle, with the Mirror reporting that Simon Hart, the chief whip, warned him that his actions would “unleash hell”.
Hart attempted to stop Hoyle from allowing a vote on a Labour motion calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” that must be observed by “all sides” during meetings on Wednesday.
The news will likely come as a big shock to precisely no one!
Related: Carol Vorderman’s latest ‘VIP Files’ could be the most shocking yet