Tory Rory Stewart Joins Rebels Threatening to Bring Down Government He Hopes to Lead

Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart has sensationally issued a warning to the frontrunner Boris Johnson and other candidates against shutting down parliament as a last-resort measure to prevent Brexit being frustrated.

Mr Stewart, the International Development Secretary, warned that if Parliament were to be shut down — known as proroguing — in order to ensure a fulll Brexit, himself and other MPs would meet in an alternative parliament and would “bring down” Boris Johnson and his government.

He said of the idea of proroguing “that is an unconstitutional, improper, really disturbing suggestion – that you try to get something through by locking the doors of Parliament.”

“Answer us. I’ve been asking Boris for a week. Tell people because we want to know what kind of leader or prime minister you would want to be.”

‘But he won’t be able to. I guarantee if he were to try, I, and every other MP will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of Parliament and we will bring him down. “

“Because you do not, ever, lock the doors on Parliament in this country, or indeed in any country with any respect in the world.”

He then compared the act of proroguing parliament to that of Charles I which led to the English Civil War.

“That’s what Charles I did – that led to very disturbing things in this country.

‘I’m sure he doesn’t mean it – I’m sure like his taxation policy he hasn’t thought it through. We need a serious prime minister for a serious country.”

Mr Stewart is seen as the most remain-supporting candidate in the Conservative leadership race and is distinctly at odds with Mr Johnson who was a key figurehead of the campaign to leave the EU.

Earlier today, the first round of voting took place between the Tory leadership hopefuls with Mr Johnson winning by a comfortable margin with 114 fellow Conservative MPs backing him. Mr Stewart, though successful in moving on to the next round of voting, came last out of the successful candidates with just 19 MPs backing him.