“The key point will come when the privileges committee determines whether the prime minister deliberately deceived the House of Commons. If he does, that is when the pressure will become unsustainable,” the source said.
Asked on Sunday at the G7 summit in Germany if his ambitions for a third term were delusional, Mr. Johnson said, “What I’m saying is that this is a government that is being given to the people of this country and we have a lot to do.”
He said the “golden rule” was to “focus on what we are doing” and maintained that his government’s achievements had been “exceptional” and “remarkable.”
Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, duplicated the claims of the third term, saying; “Looking at the long term is very good.”
Rebel MPs said Sunday that Johnson’s allies had raised the specter of an early general election in October. “I was told we will not have elections in October on the condition that the party behave,” one of the main rebels said.
“It’s a threat to say effectively that the prime minister would rather demolish the whole ship rather than get overboard on a ship.”
Tim Loughton, a former Johnson minister and critic, said he was opposed to a change of rules, adding: “The surprising thing is that we have not seen any more ministerial resignations and this will probably create momentum.
“If he can survive and turn his attention to people’s priorities, then he must make a radical reform of the government and attract a lot of criticism. I want to see people who don’t say ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ but say ‘Are you crazy, Prime Minister?’ take it on and challenge it in certain things. “