LONDON — Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has used a WhatsApp group for Conservative MPs to urge support for under fire Prime Minister Theresa May, just hours after being forced to deny that he is plotting to oust May, following reports in two Sunday newspapers that he intends to do so.
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Boris Johnson uses WhatsApp to rally MPs behind Theresa May after denying claims he plans to oust the PM
"Mail on Sunday tripe - I am backing Theresa may. Let's get on with the job," Johnson tweeted just after 11.00 p.m. BST on Sunday.
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"Folks we need to calm down and get behind the prime minister," Johnson told the group, before listing eight reasons why. The WhatsApp messages were first reported by ITV's Daniel Hewitt.
Johnson's messages emerge the day after he took to Twitter to deny reports of a planned coup.
The Times reports that five cabinet ministers have urged him to stand against May. "He has been inundated with messages of support," one ally reportedly told the paper.
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"We are facing a populist and they have realised we need someone who can talk to the people. We need a Brexiteer. Boris is the only option with the liberal values, Brexit credentials and popular appeal."
Rumours of a possible leadership challenge from Johnson come as May only just manages to hold onto the premiership, following a humiliating failure to achieve a majority in the House of Commons following Thursday's election.
May called an election in April in an attempt to increase her slim majority, put the plan backfired spectacularly and she now faces the prospect of a minority government backed by a 'confidence and supply' arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
The terms of such a deal were thought to have been agreed on Saturday evening, but just before midnight, a statement from the DUP suggested that talks are ongoing.
Following David Cameron's resignation after his defeat in last summer's EU referendum, Johnson was seen as one of the front-runners to become next Tory leader, and as a result, prime minister.
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However, Johnson shocked British politics by pulling out of the race during a speech where he was widely expected to announce his candidacy for the leadership.
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