A senior Tory is leading a cross-party fightback to protect House of Commons speaker John Bercow
A cross-party group of MPs is riding to the rescue of House of Commons speaker John Bercow, with Tory defence committee chair Julian Lewis at the forefront.
Bercow has been facing repeated questions over his impartiality relating to Brexit this week, with some MPs also angered by his public vow to fight against Donald Trump making an address in Parliament.
Tory backbencher James Duddridge has estimated that as many as 200 MPs would reject Bercow in a vote of no confidence, but now a cross-party group is organising in the speaker's defence.
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In an email sent to all MPs today, 11 parliamentarians from every party in the House of Commons have begun polling colleagues to ascertain support to Bercow.
The full email, which can be seen below, proposes amending the motion tabled by Duddridge to make it clear that it is a statement of support for the speaker.
Duddridge's motion was tabled as parliament went into recess last week, with the goal of building to support for a move to unseat Bercow when the House of Commons returns to business on Monday.
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It currently features only Duddridge's signature. Although MPs are able to sign motions while the House is in recess, the clerks will not update the online listing for the petition until next week.
Downing Street has repeatedly refused to be drawn into the row around Bercow, but made clear that it will not intervene to protect the speaker, instead stressing that any move to dethrone him is "a House matter", with ministers likely to be granted a free vote.
The full email to MPs:
