Nadine Dorries book to hit shelves before Tory conference

Nadine Dorries said last month that she would step down as Mid-Bedfordshire MP, but she is yet to formally resign

A book by Nadine Dorries claiming to detail "treachery and deceit" at the heart of government will be published ahead of the Tory party conference.

The former culture secretary said she "wanted to discover the forces behind the downfall of the prime minister".

The book, called The Plot: The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson, will come out in September.

The Conservative MP, who resigned her Mid Bedfordshire seat in June, received a £20,500 partial advance for the book.

Ms Dorries, 66, the author of 12 novels, claimed to have uncovered a "fault line" within the Conservative Party through conversations with cabinet ministers, civil servants and party officials which form the basis of her account.

A staunch Johnson ally, she described it as "a history of deception fuelled by the darkest political arts".

"If you thought that power flowed from the people into Parliament, be prepared to think again," she added.

• What next in Mid Beds as Dorries delays resignation?

• Dorries referred to authorities over forceful messages

• Could the Conservatives lose five by-elections?

Ms Dorries was among eight Conservative parliamentarians recently rebuked for their conduct in relation to the Privileges Committee investigation of Mr Johnson.

The cross-party panel, which found Mr Johnson lied to MPs with his repeated denials of pandemic-era parties in Downing Street, accused his loyalists of a co-ordinated attempt to undermine its work.

The committee ultimately triggered Mr Johnson's resignation as an MP, which means there will be a by-election next week in Uxbridge & South Ruislip.

Ms Dorries has also been seeking answers as to why she never received a peerage in Mr Johnson's resignation honours list, issued after he stepped down as PM.

Nadine Dorries has long been a staunch ally of Boris Johnson

Comment

By Amy Holmes, BBC Three Counties political reporter

It's been a busy few days for the still-current MP for Mid Bedfordshire.

On Monday, MPs agreed with the Privileges Committee's view that she and nine other Conservative MPs ran a co-ordinated campaign to interfere with a parliamentary inquiry into "Partygate", and she has since been referred to the Speaker of the Commons and the Tory chief whip.

BBC research looking at Hansard, which records everything said in Parliament, showed Ms Dorries only spoke in the House of Commons on two occasions in the year to 12 July.

On Wednesday, publisher HarperCollins confirmed she'd received a £20,500 advance for her book, due to come out just before the Tory Party Conference on 1 October.

With all this going on, questions are being raised over how long Ms Dorries can remain as the MP for Mid Beds, with it now being more than a month since she said she would be resigning with "immediate effect". She has still not handed in her notice to the Conservative chief whip, which would be the start of the formal process to call a by-election.

However, there are already seven candidates out campaigning in the constituency.

Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for St Albans, has called for Ms Dorries to have the Tory whip removed while the claims about messages sent to civil servants about her lack of a peerage were investigated.

Ms Dorries announced her intention to quit as an MP in June but had yet to do so formally,

Publisher HarperCollins said The Plot aimed to trace Mr Johnson's rise to power with the landslide victory in the 2019 general election to his downfall three years later.

A spokesman said Ms Dorries had "a unique vantage point, unparalleled access to sources, and innate storytelling ability".

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook and Instagram. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail] or get in touch via WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830