The Guardian: Conservative rebels respond to 'Big Dog rescue' with 'Operation Rinca'

The Guardian newspaper published a report prepared by a number of its correspondents saying that Tory rebels are increasing pressure on Boris Johnson to resign over the Downing Street party scandal , with one of them calling the plan “Operation Rinca” in reference to the dog that was killed in the case Jeremy Thorpe in the 1970s.

And while followers in 10 Downing Street are said to have drawn up a plan to fire officials and bail out Johnson, referred to as the "Big Dog Rescue", some Conservative MPs are stepping up pressure on colleagues to submit letters of no confidence in the prime minister.

The campaign to oust Johnson was dubbed Operation Rinca , after the dog that was shot dead in Exmoor in 1975 - an incident that eventually led to the prosecution of Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe for conspiracy to murder.

Another Representative referred to a phrase favored by former US President Ronald Reagan - "Dance with whoever brought you." Referring to Johnson's failure to live up to the policies he pledged in the last election, the MP said: "He doesn't dance with the people who brought him to Downing Street."

Among the groups pressured to submit letters of no-confidence are a number of new Conservative MPs who entered Parliament in 2019 and many feel they owe their electoral success to Johnson. However, some are similarly frustrated that partying during lockdown has distracted from delivering on key policy promises. Two parliamentarians elected in 2019 said they knew about a dozen colleagues from the same batch who had submitted letters of no-confidence.

 Johnson also faced further anger from MPs when they returned to Parliament House on Monday, after they were attacked by Conservative districts and voters. Some reported receiving nearly 1,000 emails from angry voters, although others indicated they were pleasantly surprised to hear so few references to a "party scandal" while meeting voters in their constituencies or over the weekend.

A senior government source said Johnson's problem was different from the turbulent days of Theresa May's era when there was only one group - Brexit supporters - whose anger had to be silenced.

The source said there are multiple groups angry with Johnson: Lockdown skeptics, disgruntled ex-ministers and MPs from the red wall benches of Labour, which were traditionally Labor districts but won by Conservative MPs in the last election who condemned him to failure to implement the district equality agenda. “It only takes a dozen messages from each group to bring you closer to the 54 you need to conduct a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, so it's hard to silence them all at the same time,” the source said.

 Steve Baker, the old thorn in the side of Conservative governments who helped bring down May, declined to say whether he sent the letter of no confidence but said: "People are upset and very angry."

He said MPs were "mostly waiting for Sue Gray's report" before deciding Johnson's fate, referring to the investigation by a senior civil servant into multiple alleged violations of Covid rules in Downing Street and Whitehall over the past 18 months.

But when asked if Johnson would lead the Conservatives in the next election, Baker said: "In a volatile situation like this, I think it's impossible to say and I'm very sorry for that. I would still prefer if Boris Johnson had been a huge success. But right now, listening to people who remember all the sacrifices they made, I think people might be too angry to forgive — but that remains to be seen.”

Other MPs said their email inbox was "filled beyond capacity" with complaints about Johnson, particularly from local Conservatives who had hoped he would be replaced before the May 5 local elections. (Ibrahim Darwish)