THE peg holding up Theresa May’s jacket became even shooglier yesterday, with reports that her former Brexit secretary David Davis was on manoeuvres.

Staff of the former Brexit secretary were phoning round the offices of Tory MPs to “update their records”.

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Rumours about his bid for the top job have intensified in recent days, with friends of Davis, who resigned over May’s Chequers plan, suggesting he would take over as Prime Minister, take Britain out of the EU and then stand down and allow a younger Tory to become leader.

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Under party rules only 48 MPs need to call for a leadership contest to force May to stand down and fight for her job.

Unconfirmed reports yesterday suggested that Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee of backbench Tories who is in charge of that process, has now received letters calling for the contest from 46 MPs.

There was some respite for May when Brexiteer Tory MPs stepped back from their plan to use legislation on Wednesday to scupper the Irish backstop.

Steve Baker, the vice-chair of the European Research Group had tabled amendments to a Commons debate on Wednesday so that the Northern Ireland Assembly would have to vote on any proposed backstop.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley is due to introduce emergency legislation in the House of Commons this week in an attempt to give further decision making powers to the province’s civil servants in the absence of a Stormont Assembly.

If Baker’s amendments had passed the backstop would require the approval of the Stormont Assembly, dissolved since January 2017, and in the event it was restored would likely be rejected by both the DUP and UUP.

There were reports around 40 Tory MP and the 10 DUP MPs would have voted against the Government.

However, late yesterday afternoon, Baker withdrew his amendments. He tweeted that he’d been told the only way to have voted on his motions would be by stopping the emergency legislation going through in its entirety.

“I’m persuaded this would not be in the public interest,” Baker said. “I have withdrawn them. The substantive issues of the Union remain of concern.”

There was also sympathy for the Prime Minister over some of the language used about her by her own party rivals over the weekend.

One Tory backbencher speaking to the Sunday Times said: “The moment is coming when the knife gets heated, stuck in her front and twisted. She’ll be dead soon.”

Another senior Brexiteer claimed “she should bring her noose” to the 1922 Committee meeting on Wednesday.

East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton tweeted: “If I was told to ‘bring my own noose’ to my next surgery, that I’d be ‘knived’, or ‘assassinated’, my staff would report it to the police.

“I don’t really see why comments made by snivelling cowards on the back benches towards the Prime Minister should be treated differently.”

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said: “Shame on the spineless cowards on my benches who hide behind anonymity to use such disturbing and violent language about their own colleague & PM Theresa May totally unacceptable.

“Have they learned nothing following the assassination of Jo Cox.”

Cox was murdered by Thomas Mair on June 16, 2016, a week before the EU referendum.

In the Commons, Baker said the person who made the comments should be named and have the whip removed.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper wrote: “I don’t know who it is. Maybe we should all be told because it might stop him using such violent, dehumanising language against a woman again.

“Don’t care how much people disagree with PM, targeting her with talk of knives, killing & nooses is irresponsible and vile.”

Brexiteer Mark Francois said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the language was “unacceptable” but blamed the comments on the “bunker mentality” in Downing Street.

“The problem is that there is a lot of frustration on the backbenches at the moment,” he said.